Salt Lake City residents have a new reason to visit Liberty Park with the grand opening of the Seven Canyons Refuge, a revitalized public art space developed from the former Seven Canyons Fountain. Mayor Erin Mendenhall joined community members to celebrate the opening of the Refuge, which has been transformed into an interactive, dry art exhibit featuring light and sound elements, designed to create a multisensory experience accessible to all, according to Salt Lake City.
The original Seven Canyons Fountain, a gift from O.C. Tanner in 1993, was a staple in Liberty Park until its closure in 2017 over health and safety concerns. Now, it's returned with a new vision that holds to the essentials of interactivity and community engagement. Spearheading the redesign was Stephen Goldsmith, one of the original artists, who worked in collaboration with ArcSitio, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Lands, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, and the City’s Engineering Division. Mayor Mendenhall stated, "It’s rare to see a piece of public art evolve with its community the way Seven Canyons has,” as per Salt Lake City, highlighting the dynamic nature of public art in the city's fabric.
The upgraded Refuge integrates sculpture with ecological consciousness, featuring elements like 'People Perches', cast bronze sculptures that allow interaction with birdsong and kintsugi-inspired bronze repairs that symbolize resilience. The space includes shishi-odoshi structures that drive visitors to engage with water stewardship actively. Other design components tie Salt Lake City's transportation history to regional water narratives, with etchings that commemorate Indigenous heritage, and a tribute to the Great Salt Lake through artful representation, as reported by Salt Lake City.
