New Mural – Kearns Past, Present, Future – Featured at New Kearns Library
A public library is a community gathering place; a place to mingle, to read, to learn. At the newly opened Salt Lake County Kearns Library, the community can learn more about its history from the new public art piece titled Kearns Past, Present, Future. This art piece is a mural spread across three walls of the library, designed and painted by Matt Monsoon, a Salt Lake based artist.
Matt’s work contains a sense of place, community, and home as well as multicultural influences from childhood growing up internationally. Matt’s expressive illustrative style evokes feeling, it pops with color, characters, nature, and storylines that keep the viewer returning to the art again and again. We asked him to interpret the murals for us.
Community Roots, the first mural represents Kearns’ past. This painting is an interpretation of diverse and interconnected stories, cultures, history, people, and folklore that built the community of Kearns, Utah. It pays tribute to some of Kearns’ forgotten history and champions the stories of the hard-working people that made it home.”
“The Interwoven Now, represents the present of Kearns, the inheritance from our ancestors and gifted to our children. This mural depicts the meaningful moments of connection, community, ancestry, and family and being present to watch it all unfold.”
“The future, The Reimagining, portrays Kennecott Copper Mines in a future state of regrowth. This scene imagines a world and environment on the mend and the youth of Kearns discussing the vibrant possibilities that lay ahead of them.”
The Kearns Library mural is part of the Salt Lake County 1% for Art Program. This program sets aside 1% of the construction budget to add an art piece to any new or renovated county facility. Each public art piece is located in a very public area, allowing anyone to view or interact with it. The Kearns Library work is the latest in our collection, visit the Salt Lake County Public Art Collection website for more information.
