This Mural was created at the request of Hoytsville residents who wished to install a public art project illustrating the unique history of the North Summit region. After a Call for Artists was put out to the public, muralist Sasha Primo of Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected through a jury process by the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board. Sasha traveled to Utah to live with local families while conducting interviews with North Summit residents NaVee and Camille Vernon and Kathy Chappell, Summit County Historian Joe Frazier, Larry Cesspooch of the Ute Nation, and Lucie Washakie of the Eastern Shoshone Nation, among many other community members. Sasha also toured local landmarks and significant sites, and ran community workshops to gather information about the plants, animals, people, and symbols that represent life here. He brought his workshops to the North Summit schools as well, engaging with teacher Hannah Wilde’s high school students and teacher Heidi Robertson’s elementary students.

After 3 weeks of research, the mural was completed with help from North Summit residents and Lucie Washakie’s grandchildren. Those who assisted with the mural’s creation were invited to sign their initials on the aspen trees and add their own drawings throughout the image. The finished mural was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 1st, 2022 with County Council.

The mural is intended to honor the natural beauty of the region, as well as to acknowledge the complexity of its history—from the First Nation People who originally inhabited this land to the pioneers who later settled here, to the farmers of sheep, dairy and beef cattle, and the mink ranchers whose industries shaped the valley—all are part of the history and living present of this land. We hope this mural is seen as a tribute to both a shared history and a connected, compassionate future.

A short documentary by local videographer Claire Wiley detailing the process of the mural’s creation will soon be available on the Arts Council of Park City & Summit County’s website.

This mural was produced by the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board and The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County, thanks to the generous funding from a Summit County RAP Tax Grant.