This festival within the Festival is a happy place where budding young artists get their hands dirty, their wiggles out, and their imaginations stirred. Here young children collaborate with on-site sculptures, create make-and-take projects with some of Salt Lake’s most creative nonprofit organizations and play an instrument!
Forest and Trees!
Did you know that there are over 73,300 different tree species on Earth? (That we know of). They purify the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, prevent erosion, and offer a home to much of the world's diverse array of plants and animals.
Some exciting installations that all kids can work on:
A Collection of Trees: We have created different trees and kinds of forests from discarded everyday objects, and they need leaves, bark, and paint to make them even more beautiful!
- Temperate: These forests have high levels of precipitation, humidity, and a variety of deciduous trees.
- Tropical: These forests have very high annual rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity.
- Boreal: These forests are defined mainly by long cold winters and very low plant diversity, heavily dominated by coniferous trees, also known as snow forests.
- Desert: These forests have an average rainfall of less than 70 cm, and the natural vegetation consists of thorny trees and bushes.
Forest Creatures: So many different creatures make their homes in and near trees. These upcycled critter sculptures have been created by students of the Wasatch Charter School, and you get to decorate them!
Toilet Paper Roll Tiny Forest: Create your own tiny tree made from a toilet paper roll to add to this tiny forest!
Make & Take Projects
Every year the Utah Arts Festival partners with local nonprofits to make the Art Yard a dynamic place of wonder for Festival-going kids.
Here’s whom you’ll find this year:
Tree Utah
TreeUtah is an inclusive statewide nonprofit that plants trees with volunteers at parks, schools, and public lands. At tree plantings, they educate about the need for trees, how to plant trees for the best success rates in Utah, and share other relevant tree resources. Sign up to volunteer and get information at treeutah.org. Tree Utah is excited to have a table at the Art Yard at Utah Arts Festival this year to highlight the work we do while creating tree art!
Craft Lake City: DIY Rock Painting
Join Craft Lake City at this year’s Utah Arts Festival for a fun and easy DIY rock painting craft inspired by this year’s forest theme! Craft Lake City is excited to provide an art activity and engage with patrons who will be painting rocks using forest-inspired graphics. This DIY take-home activity will be available for children and adults of all ages and artistic ability! Craft Lake City® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to educate, promote and inspire local artisans while elevating the creative culture of the Utah arts community through science, technology and art.
Make Salt Lake: Non-Stinging Bees
Make Salt Lake will be making a bee home for non stinging Mason bees. This project uses cans and bamboo and is decorated to look like a bee. Make Salt Lake's mission is to enhance Utah's creative and tech communities by providing affordable access to tools and learning experiences, and by connecting like-minded individuals.
Utah Film Center: Forest Filmmaking!
Join Utah Film Center to capture the magical world of forests through making mini animated movies and your own animation toy. Explore stop motion digital animation, set design, green screens, and animation through paper craft. Utah Film Center connects people, stories, and ideas through film, artist support, and media arts education. Their Tumbleweeds for Kids program features the annual spring Tumbleweeds Film Festival, with films, filmmaking workshops, special guests, clubhouse activities, and a kids film competition.
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art: Whimsical Ecosystem Posters
Create a whimsical ecosystem by adding butterflies, tissue-paper flowers, and paint pen drawings. Take your ecosystem poster home and proudly display it in your home! The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) brings the art of our time to life through exciting exhibitions, monthly Family Saturdays, and accessible community programming.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts: Print Your Own Family Tree
Join the Utah Museum of Fine Arts to print your own family tree. Observe the trees and forest around you to learn the shape of leaves then create your own leaf stamp to print on your family tree. A family tree is a chart with all the people in your family, but it can be all your friends too!
Visual Arts Institute
Visual Art Institute will be doing Leaf pendants, and Earth Buttons for our project at this year's Art Yard! Find a perfect leaf to create a pendant or fun button to celebrate the magic of our earth and forests with the Visual Art Institute, Utah's Oldest Nonprofit Art School! Honor our earth by creating something special! The Visual Art Institute is a local art non-profit that offers art programs and classes for children, teens, and adults alike. While working with local groups and schools in our area, they give creative outlets to those who would not normally have the opportunity.
What’s Ya Vibe?: Flowers & Masks
Part of our 2023 Emerging Artist Program, artist Shalandrea Houchen and her team will lead kids in activities inspired by nature, wellness, and multicultural arts. Influenced by the work of Kehinde Wiley, kids will have an opportunity to create their own flower that can be a part of a growing, collaborative installation or to take home, wear in their hair or on their arms. They’ll also enjoy making their own decorative tribal mask representing the Goddess Oshun, Goddess of all things love. With mixed media like flowers, branches, paint, oil pastels and jewels What’s Ya Vibe? will activate imaginations and inspire creativity through educational projects. For workshops, events and culturally diverse focused programming by What's Ya Vibe? you can find more info atwhatsyavibe.org.
Summerhays Music Center: Instrument Petting Zoo
Come listen to the music that trees make at the Summerhays Music Instrument Petting zoo! Summerhays Music is happy to be returning to the Utah Arts Festival with sanitized wind and string instruments for children to try. No previous experience is necessary, as we will have plenty of skilled staff members to show them the way. Come ignite a life-long passion for music! Summerhays Music Center is the oldest established family music store in Utah. Founded in 1936, our commitment to music education and quality products has made us one of the finest music retail stores in the country.
Fear No Film Kids
Also, check out the Fear No Film KIDS! Program to view charming short films in the (air conditioned) Library Auditorium.
- Friday, June 23 @ 2pm
- Saturday, June 24 @ 2pm
- Sunday, June 25 @ 12:15pm