Welcome to a radical new way to unite communities and experience the arts! The Railyard Community Art Garden is a unique project for the community of Salt Lake City initiated by the non-profit group Artists for Local Agriculture and the Utah Arts Alliance. Being an "art" garden, it not only provides much needed space for members of the community to grow fresh organic food, but it uses the power of art to unite diverse crowds in support of a crucial cause.
The garden will be unique to Salt Lake, offering not only standard garden plots available to the public, but also incentive and opportunity for artists, whether it be wall art, sculptures, landscape art, gallery events, installations and more. There will also be regular events on the central stage by local musicians, theater groups, and informative workshops and classes about gardening and the arts. This is an exciting new way for the community to come together and share their talents, whatever they may be!
The A.F.L.A. group, Artists for Local Agriculture, was founded by long-time musician and activist Michael Cundick in 2011. Armed with experienced pro-bono support and the influence of a large network of supporting gardeners, musicians and artists, A.F.L.A. has been very effective at igniting the artistic community and advocating for local farmers. The Railyard Community Art Garden is their most ambitious project yet and with the land space secured from the Utah Arts Alliance they are ready to breathe new life into downtown Salt Lake City!
The Utah Arts Alliance (UAA) is a long standing organization that aims to foster the arts in ALL forms in order to create an aware, empowered, and connected community. Executive Director Derek Dyer was happy to add the art of gardening to the list of the many organizations it supports. The garden will be located on the grounds of the UAA's newest project the Salt Lake Arts Hub that houses 35 artist studios, office space for arts non-profits, dance studios, an events center, with over 33,000 sq. ft. of building space, and more. It is a perfect compliment for this unique community art garden.
After months of planning the project is ready to launch and needs your help to really get off the ground. Countless volunteer hours have gone into it already and the design has been finalized. We need your help to get the supplies to make this project a reality. If you are interested in donating time and elbow grease please message us. Help make this an outstanding success! The plans are laid, the experience is present, the paintbrushes are dipped, guitars are all tuned, and the volunteers are ready.... Let's do this thing!
Help us turn this...
Into an inspiring and sustainable labor of love!
Risks and challenges
There are always concerns and challenges associated with starting a community garden such as burst irrigation systems, improper zoning, not enough community interest, poor management. It's definitely not an easy task, but we have ensured every step of the way that we are well equipped to handle this! The partnership with the Utah Arts Alliance ensures that there will never be a zoning issue, and everything else can be solved with elbow grease and knowledge (and funds which is why we need you!). So you know more about our expertise, we have been working closely with Wasatch Community Gardens, a local non-profit established in 1989. WCG provides expertise and assistance to many community gardens in Utah through their Community Garden Network Program. Also our indispensable operations manager, Carissa Gardner, is a long time gardener and has just graduated from Wasatch Community Gardens "Growing Community Gardens" nine week course. She is very excited to get to work! We also have the full support and backing of Slow Food Utah (slowfoodutah.org) as well as a great network of local farmers who are glad to give advice and lend a hand! The website for the garden directly is http://railyardcommunityartgarden.wordpress.com/
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Funding period
- (37 days)