Hidden Waters
Celebrating water in our oasis on desert’s edge.
The Hidden Waters installation will consist of two distinctive components, a series of artist-commissioned Water Drops and The Source—a large sculptural element serving as a beacon for the project. The installation will be initially focused on North Temple where City Creek flows aboveground and then underneath the street in a pipe. It will connect City Creek Park to the Folsom Trail corridor at 600 West in Salt Lake City.
The installation will culturally daylight the creek—not physically bringing the creek back to the surface. But rather, bringing the idea that the creek runs underneath the city, to the surface of the collective consciousness. It will highlight a past stream daylighting project at City Creek Park and a future project to uncover City Creek along the Folsom Trail.
The installation will explore narratives that highlight Salt Lake City’s relationship with water, such as the Indigenous Peoples of the Salt Lake Valley, the Greatest Snow on Earth, the 2034 Winter Olympics as water sports, stream daylighting, the Great Salt Lake, and more.
Goals
Increase knowledge of Salt Lake City’s hydrology—its creeks, the Jordan River, and Great Salt Lake—and issues related to water
Highlight City Creek Park and the City Creek at Folsom Trail project to create east-west connections
Increase pedestrian traffic from Central Business District to North Temple and the Folsom Trail corridor
Connect people to our waterways and highlight cultural narratives around water through a hopeful, solutions-based lens
Background
In 2024, the Hidden Waters installation was chosen as one of the first recipients of The Blocks’ Co-Create Program. This program aims to foster collaborative endeavors to produce distinctive art installations, performances, activations, and projects within the boundaries of Downtown Salt Lake City, otherwise known as The Blocks Arts District.
