Summit County arts leaders outline master plan progress and unveil roundabout sculpture project

The Arts Council for Park City and Summit County and consultants for an arts and culture master plan presented initial findings and an update on a major public-art project to the Summit County Council at its March meeting. Jocelyn Scudder, executive director of the Arts Council, and representatives from Columbus, Ohio–based Designing Local summarized seven months of community engagement and preliminary recommendations and described an upcoming roundabout sculpture installation slated for summer.

The presentation outlined the purpose of the master plan — to create a shared definition of arts and culture across the county, identify gaps in facilities and programming, and recommend funding and policy options to support arts as both quality-of-life and economic drivers. “Arts and culture nonprofits and events drive $176,000,000 in economic activity,” Scudder told the council, citing a local arts and economic prosperity study conducted with Americans for the Arts. Consultants noted resident spending per cultural visit in Summit County averaged $84, about double the national average cited in their benchmarking materials.

Designing Local described the engagement program: 19 stakeholder interviews, pop-up events in multiple locations across the county, seven targeted “thought-exchange” sessions, and an online survey that had received about 280 responses at the time of the presentation. Major themes included constrained, unpredictable funding for arts organizations; limited visibility and access to arts outside Park City proper; a desire for more everyday arts experiences rather than only occasional events; and challenges for artists to live and work in the county because of high living costs. Opportunities identified included more public art and murals, “third spaces” for community gathering, leveraging existing major arts anchors such as Sundance and the Kimball Arts Center to better benefit local artists, and integrating arts with recreation and heritage storytelling.

Separately, the Arts Council and its public-art board provided details about a funded public-art commission for two large sculptures: a moose and a sandhill crane to be installed in roundabouts at the Pinebrook and Jeremy Ranch exits. After an RFQ issued in 2023 attracted roughly 80 submittals, a nine-member volunteer public-art board recommended artists Don Kennell and Lisa Alder (DKLA Design of Santa Fe) after a public selection process. The artists’ proposal calls for 20–25-foot fabricated sculptures to be shipped in pieces and welded on site; the project team plans on-site foundation work in late April and a likely installation window in June or July, weather allowing.

Scudder said the project budget was based on an RFP for $194,000 and that the funding was prioritized by the county manager in 2019; the county clarified the funds come from a new-construction fee mechanism rather than property tax. The artists will conduct outreach with nearby schools — Wilhelmina (sic) School of Discovery, Park City Day School, Jeremy Ranch Elementary, and Ecker Hill Middle School — to hold classroom visits and a naming contest for each sculpture before the community-wide vote. Councilors expressed support for school engagement and asked that the council be kept informed of installation dates.

The consultants said they will deliver a fuller benchmark analysis in April, an engagement report with initial recommendations, and a draft plan in May, with planned follow-up sessions in June. The Arts Council indicated it expects to return to the council seeking a resolution of support for the final arts and culture master plan, noting the master plan was a deliverable tied to the county’s sustainable tourism plan and funded in partnership with the Park City Chamber.

Jocelyn Scudder and the consultants said they are available to meet individually with council members and stakeholders for follow-up input as the plan moves toward a May draft and June vetting sessions.