The new Bus Rapid Transit line, or Ogden Express, and the art project tied to it, tell a story of community and history.
On Jan. 27, the artists chosen to decorate the new bus stops met via Zoom with Sarah Langsdon, head of Special Collections at Weber State University, and Katie Nelson, executive director of the Weber County Heritage Foundation. The meeting was hosted by Lorie Buckley, the arts coordinator for Ogden City, and Jake McIntire, the public arts subcommittee chair.
The meeting provided the artists’ connections to help provide direction in their artwork and the theme connecting them.
Buckley expressed how the artworks will link to their location within Ogden. McIntire emphasized this idea and its importance to Ogden.
The initiative aims to display artwork with cultural significance, “rather than just creating or inviting random artwork that might aesthetically be pleasing or beautify the space but doesn’t really connect to the local culture,” McIntire said.
Both Buckley and McIntire hope these murals provide a closer, more personal feel to the riders of the OGX and tell a story of the diverse history of Ogden City.
Local artists involved are Benjamin Zack, WSU photographer and photojournalist with a goal of telling stories that haven’t been told, and Cole Eisenhour, whose artwork people in Ogden may already be familiar with. Eisenhour’s mural on 25th Street and Kiesel Avenue, themed on the phrase “You Belong,” stands brightly to people passing by.
Other artists include Jhonattan Arango, born in Camagüey, Cuba, who creates murals using geometric designs exclusively out of triangles, and Erica Lyon who was assigned to the McKay-Dee bus stop.
Each artist was tasked with researching the history of the area their bus stop is located in and creating a mural or artwork associated with the stories and history they are drawn to.
Additionally, the murals will be placed on the windscreen of the bus stops, allowing for the incorporation of sunlight into the designs.
WSU students can expect to see a few of these murals and their stories almost daily, with stops in front of the Browning Center, University Housing and the Dee Events Center.
