The Park City Council unanimously approved contracts this month for a bus shelter artwork project.
Renovations to city bus stops began in 2024. Nineteen stops will be upgraded during the first phase, but a total of 72 will receive improvements. Some stops will have new ADA-compliant bus shelters complete with solar-powered real-time route and scheduling information for riders while less frequently used stops will receive stand-alone benches or cement pads.
Since the stops are being improved, the Public Art Advisory Board is collaborating with Park City Transit to provide visual upgrades as well. Chair Jess Griffiths said the board wanted to choose a variety of different styles.
“Park City is very forward thinking on, ‘Hey, the people in town love public art, it really builds a sense of community. So anytime we're doing some kind of public-facing work, let's have public art be associated with that,” he said.
The board released a “call for artists” in October 2024 and 15 submitted original work. The pieces are meant to incorporate the theme of “timeless connections” and have a cohesive design to connect with other stops. Artists were also asked to include a color palette inspired by Park City’s bus color routing, rich cultural heritage, natural landscapes and community spirit.
Five artists were recommended by the board. Four are from Utah, including Elizabeth Walsh, Libby Peterkort, Heather Olson and Michael Murdock. The fifth artist, Anjola Ayodele, is from Arizona.
Walsh’s work will be featured at four stops. Griffiths said each will have a similar design of mountains, but have a different color scheme.
“I live in Park Meadows, and so there's a green and a blue line that comes around Holiday Ranch Loop [Road] and then goes on Little Kate [Road], or vice versa. And so her submission would allow for this really cool color scheme to actually match the bus lines,” he said.
Libby Peterkort’s “Land of Color” was chosen for one stop. Her design features Park City’s natural environment, including a colorful silhouette of mountains and a sandhill crane.
Heather Olson’s art is the most obvious representation of Park City. One-half of the artwork shows Main Street at sunset and a moose walking across the street. The other half is a winter scene featuring a deer and a train. A clock is overlaid at the top of the piece.
Michael Murdock’s piece is a bit different than the others. It features a Chickadee wearing a baseball cap with a pine tree on it. Griffiths said the board hopes pieces like this will spark conversations.
“We like to have a wide variety, because public art, you know, it serves a lot of purposes,” he said. “It's a talking point. It builds community, it really enhances public space.”
Anjola Ayodele’s “Hills and Paths” is more abstract, featuring indications of clouds, trees and mountains.
Griffiths said the pieces will be installed over the course of this year. The budget for each bus stop artwork is $5,000. The city will invite more artists to submit bus stop designs later this year.
Click here to see the artists’ designs and a map of where they will live.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
