Salt Lake City Arts Council

What Salt Lake City Arts Council does

The Salt Lake City Arts Council is a municipal arts organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It supports artists and arts organizations through grants, public art commissions, exhibitions, and community arts programming, serving the residents of Salt Lake City and the broader Utah public. Its core products are public art initiatives rather than commercial goods or services, and it does not operate a priced product catalog.

Its most significant recent program is the 'Wake the Great Salt Lake' initiative, comprising 12 art projects across the city that address the lake's environmental decline. The signature commission, 'A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake,' premiered March 26–April 4, 2026, at Memory Grove Park. The installation is a two-story-high illuminated sphere with synchronized lighting and audio derived from 150 ecosystem recordings, designed by internationally renowned artist Olafur Eliasson with sound design by Grammy-winning producer Koreless. Development incorporated input from the Shoshone Nation and local scientists to ensure indigenous and scientific credibility.

The council's business model is non-commercial and grant- and municipal-appropriation-driven. It was selected in 2022 as one of eight winning cities in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, receiving up to $1 million to fund the initiative. Distribution occurs through free, in-person public access to installations in city parks, with awareness generated via international media coverage (e.g., Forbes) and Bloomberg's institutional network. The organization has no disclosed headcount, no commercial pricing, and no disclosed annual revenue, and it is not a candidate for traditional venture, growth-equity, or buyout investment given its nonprofit municipal structure.

Name

Salt Lake City Arts Council

Website

https://saltlakearts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Salt Lake City Arts Council is a municipal nonprofit founded in 1978 that supports artists and arts organizations through grants, public art commissions, exhibitions, and community programming for Salt Lake City residents and the broader Utah public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Arts Programming

akta.pro primary industry

Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Public art programs
• Arts grants administration
• Community exhibitions
• Municipal arts funding
• Cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge Grant: Salt Lake City was selected as one of eight winning cities in 2022 to receive up to $1 million in funding through Bloomberg Philanthropies' Public Art Challenge for temporary public art addressing civic issues, specifically environmental awareness about the Great Salt Lake's decline.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Salt Lake City Arts Council is a municipal arts organization that supports artists and arts organizations through grants, commissions public art installations, and delivers community arts programming across Salt Lake City. Its current flagship work is the 'Wake the Great Salt Lake' initiative—12 commissioned art projects aimed at raising awareness about the Great Salt Lake's decline, anchored by Olafur Eliasson and Koreless's signature installation, 'A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake.'

Product overview

The Salt Lake City Arts Council operates a portfolio of public art initiatives, with the Wake the Great Salt Lake initiative serving as the overarching program featuring 12 art projects across the city. The signature commissioned work is 'A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake,' a large-scale light-and-sound installation by artist Olafur Eliasson and producer Koreless featuring a two-story-high sphere with 150 ecosystem recordings, premiered March 26–April 4, 2026 at Memory Grove Park.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wake the Great Salt Lake: A public art initiative comprising 12 art projects across Salt Lake City aimed at raising awareness about the Great Salt Lake's rapid decline through artistic installations and community engagement.

Products and services

• Wake the Great Salt Lake Initiative A public art initiative comprising 12 commissioned art projects across Salt Lake City aimed at raising awareness about the Great Salt Lake's rapid decline through artistic installations and community engagement.
• A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake A signature commissioned immersive public art installation by Olafur Eliasson with sound design by Grammy-winning producer Koreless, featuring a two-story-high illuminated sphere and audio derived from 150 recordings of the Great Salt Lake's ecosystem. Premiered at Memory Grove Park as the centerpiece of the Wake the Great Salt Lake initiative, designed to inspire environmental action through beauty rather than fear.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 public art projects across Salt Lake City addressing the Great Salt Lake environmental crisis
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Shoshone NationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Shoshone Nation provided input and collaboration on the public art installation, ensuring indigenous perspectives and cultural connections to the Great Salt Lake were incorporated into the project's design and messaging.
• Local ScientistscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scientists contributed scientific expertise and input to ensure the environmental messaging about the Great Salt Lake's decline was accurate and credible.
• Olafur EliassonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternationally renowned artist Olafur Eliasson created the signature commissioned artwork 'A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake,' featuring a two-story-high illuminated sphere with ecosystem-derived sounds.
• KorelessflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrammy-winning producer Koreless collaborated on the sound design, creating audio content derived from 150 recordings of the Great Salt Lake's ecosystem for the installation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Seattle Office of Arts & Culture: City office that distributes arts grants, manages public art, and supports community cultural programming in Seattle. Directly comparable municipal arts administration function.
• New York City Department of Cultural Affairs: Municipal arts council/government agency that funds and supports public art, grants, and cultural programming across New York City. Directly comparable as a city-level arts administration body.
• Boston Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture: Municipal arts office funding public art, grants, and community cultural programs in Boston. Same public-sector arts commissioning and grantmaking mandate.
• Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events: Municipal agency that funds arts organizations, commissions public art, and produces civic cultural programming across Chicago. Same government-arts delivery model as the subject.
• Denver Arts & Venues: Denver municipal agency overseeing public art, cultural grants, and civic arts programming. Similar mid-size-city municipal arts council profile.
• San Francisco Arts Commission: City arts commission that commissions public art, administers cultural grants, and runs community arts initiatives for San Francisco. Closely mirrors the Salt Lake City Arts Council's scope.
• Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs: Municipal department administering grants, public art, and community arts programs for Los Angeles. Operates with the same municipal arts council mandate and funding-distribution model.

Emerging players

• Forecast Public Art: St. Paul-based nonprofit supporting the creation of temporary and permanent public art through grants, publications, and consulting. Comparable public-art commissioning focus with a more niche/national scope.

Broad incumbents

• National Endowment for the Arts: Federal agency that funds and sets policy for public art, arts education, and cultural grants nationwide. Comparable grantmaking role at a larger, federal scale.
• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit supporting local arts councils and public arts policy across the U.S. Operates one organizational level above the Salt Lake City Arts Council but serves the same ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salt-lake-arts-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Salt Lake City Arts Council