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Salt Lake Community College will host the formal unveiling of the Utah Women 2020 Mural at its South City Campus on March 6. The 1,000-square-foot-mural mural features more than 350 women, many of whom have made their mark on the Beehive State.
Pop artist and soft-sculpture pioneer Jann Haworth shepherded the project since its inception and, partnering with collage artist Liberty Blake, have painstakingly assembled nearly 300 life-size stenciled portraits to create this living, breathing testament to community and to the remarkable legacy of Utah women throughout history. Nearly 300 individuals were involved in the creation of this monumental tribute to Utah Women.
There are two versions of this mural, both of which are on view in Salt Lake City. The first iteration was commissioned by Zions Bank Advisory Board Chairman Scott Anderson, who tapped Haworth to develop a work to commemorate Utah women on the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage and the 150-year anniversary of the first woman to cast a ballot in Utah in 2020. For this version, Haworth and her son Alex Johnstone took the hundreds of individual portraits and created a digital collage that was printed on vinyl and is on display in downtown Salt Lake City on the Dinwoodey Building (37 W. 100 S.).
The original paper portraits needed a home. In 2024, SLCC gladly accepted the gift as a welcome addition to its permanent art collection. Zions Bank and the SLCC Foundation provided funding to commission a new version of the mural by Haworth and her daughter, collage artist Liberty Blake. Each original paper portrait, with some new additions, were repositioned and wheat-pasted onto wood panels to create this new iteration of the mural—a massive collage containing hundreds of original artworks.
“It is truly a community-oriented artwork,” added James Walton, co-chair of SLCC’s Art Committee and who manages the College’s art collection. “It is such a brilliant way to create a single artwork containing hundreds of different portraits. With so many different artists involved, you see this incredible variety of styles and skill levels that capture a wonderful diversity of looks and personalities that would be impossible to achieve from a single artist.”
While creating the Dinwoodey mural, the pandemic hit, and Haworth had to adjust her approach. Instead of offering local portrait workshops, she turned to artists and non-artists in Utah and throughout the world to contribute stenciled portraits of Utah women. Because of the lockdown restrictions in many areas, creators had to work with whatever materials they had at home, sometimes using crayons and cereal boxes.
“This mural is about equality and fair representation—the women in it are from all walks of life. And, it has been created by individuals from all artistic backgrounds, many not formal artists but who are teachers, nurses, and lawyers. It opened the art process to everyone,” explained Haworth, who designed The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover and the “SLC Pepper” mural (250 So. 400 W.) “I feel like the Utah Women 2020 Mural is an apology for the near complete absence of women in the Sgt. Pepper design,” said Haworth.
“Zions Bank was proud to commission the Utah Women 2020 mural as a tribute to the enormous contributions of women in our state,” said Anderson. “We’re especially pleased to help fund the collage at SLCC in honor of Deneece Huftalin's leadership as president of SLCC from 2014-2024.”
Event Details:
SLCC Utah Women Mural Unveiling and Reception
When: Thursday, March 6, 2025, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (short program at 6:00 p.m.)
Where: South City Campus (1575 East State Street, SLC), Atrium located on the south side of the building.
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