Students from six high schools and one junior high school in Granite School District are celebrating the completion of their collaborative mural project highlighting the landmarks, values, ambitions, and goals of the communities within the school district.

The project, titled “Sense of Community,” was guided by professional artist Matt Monson, and funded by the Utah Legislature and Utah Division of Arts & Museums. The work aims to instill in each young person a striving to succeed. Students who worked on the mural were present during the unveiling of murals at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, along with representatives from participating organizations.  

“We wanted our mural design to feel like you were walking down the streets of Taylorsville, seeing the main things that bring this community to life. We wanted our audience to have many things to look at so that, as they spent more time with it, they would see more and more things they recognized.”

“The strength of the Kearns Community is represented by the strong roots that sprout up into the stalwart tree. The tree grows and branches out throughout the community and into the many diverse hands that are all part of such an incredible community.”

“As the project evolved, Cultural Representation arose as the overarching theme of our area’s mural. We wanted to reflect our community’s rich diversity, not only geographically but religiously and other aspects unique to our backgrounds.”

“Our mission was to learn and share what we know about the Millcreek community, its features, people, and history.  Through the process the artists interjected their own experiences and relationships to the area. We hope that our mural shows some of the important features of Millcreek that helped make Salt Lake Valley what it is today.”

“This year has been full of challenges and the students gravitated towards making a colorful playful mural with figures and barking dogs inspired by street artist Keith Haring. It helped students appreciate their own community as vibrant and unique.”

“In our mural, the great Mount Olympus overlooks our small city and the people who enjoy the myriad of outdoor activities Holladay has to offer; skiing, hiking, mountain biking, live music in the summers, and of course, the Mt. Olympus torch run.”