Writing on the Wall

The time between March 2020 and now has been impactful, to say the least. And a group of Utah muralists has created a selection of works to capture that experience and how it might affect the future.

2020: From here on out, a collaboration between the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) and Salt Lake City-based Roots Art Kollective, presents four murals by Utah-based artists in the museum’s expansive central space, the G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall. Muralists are Bill Louis; Vaimoana Niumeitolu; Roots Art Kollective members Luis Novoa, Alan Ochoa, and Miguel Galaz; and Ella Rises artists Zully Davila and Evelyn Haupt.

“I believe that we are living through times where a sense of healing and storytelling is extremely needed,” says Novoa. “Not only to tell our own experiences, but to commemorate and provide long-lasting memories of family and friends lost to COVID-19.”

Artists around the country have created powerful murals in response to the global pandemic and racial injustice, says UMFA senior curator Whitney Tassie. “We developed this exhibition with Roots to acknowledge the great work being created as well as to continue important local dialogue.”