Opening reception for "Moments at the Great Salt Lake," photography by Kelly Hannah. Exhibit runs in the Main Library's Lower Urban Room from August 12–September 20.
Artist's Statement
It was 1986 when my dad and I were driving into Salt Lake City during a winter storm, coming from the west on I-80, the turbulent waves from the Great Salt Lake crashed and sprayed up and over the highway, and we could feel them move the car when they hit us. It was my first encounter with the Great Salt Lake, a marked experience, and to this day an ethereal memory.
Since that first meeting, Great Salt Lake is weaved through my life, inextricably connected to my history. It is an indelible part of my character, my human being. I revel in its profoundly present and open expanse, where time slows and spaces flow into one another. It’s beautifully disorienting, and reorienting at the same time - prompting presence, prompting reflection, prompting reconciliation with the moment in the most perfect way.
Artist's Bio
Kelly moved to Salt Lake City in 1986 to attend Rowmark Ski Academy and Rowland Hall St. Marks school where he discovered art. Subsequently, he graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies. After college, Kelly worked in film production before earning his real estate license in 1999. He has been helping people with their real estate for the past 25 years and is the independent Principal Broker of Eightline Real Estate in Sugar House. He has remained passionate about film making and photography. With his insatiably curious connection to Great Salt Lake, Kelly volunteers as a Director of the Board of Friends of Great Salt Lake and enjoys working to educate and advocate for this hemispherically critical body of water, and its surrounding ecosystem.
AGE GROUP: | All Ages |
EVENT TYPE: | Exhibits | Arts & Creativity |
NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed for renovations.
Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.
A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.
