coalville rail trail ‘quilted together’ public art project
Celebrating community-building, history, and culture of Coalville, the Rail Trail, and Summit County, UT. The Summit County Public Art Advisory Board (“SCPAAB”) is seeking Artists to propose a concept for a highly creative artwork to be installed on the Rail Trail near the Coalville Center Street trail access point.
Timeline:
The project artwork installation period will take place in early Spring 2026, with a project completion date no later than May 1, 2026. This date may be subject to change and Artists are expected to remain as flexible as possible in this regard.
Project Background:
The Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail runs throughout Summit County, Utah from Park City to Echo and travels through various ecosystems and communities, each with different histories, cultures, and traditions.
In 2021, Summit County began a two-year study of the trail and the lands surrounding it, resulting in the Summit County Rail Trail Corridor Plan adopted in May 2023. The Plan prioritizes access, environmental quality, agricultural preservation, sustainable tourism and recreation, economic vitality, and history, arts, and culture throughout the corridor.
For the last year the Summit County Planning Department has engaged in a process to develop the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail Arts and Culture Phasing and Implementation Strategy, completed in Spring 2025, which phases geographically and recommends Coalville, UT as a starting point for creative placemaking through public artwork on the Rail Trail.
The theme “Quilted Together” will guide the Arts & Culture implementation plan along the Rail Trail Corridor, referencing the strong culture of craft and quilting in the North and South Summit communities, and supports the long-range vision to connect the Rail Trail and the rural communities through which it runs by a series of sculptural artworks that honor and express the unique heritage, history, and culture of these towns. Coalville in particular has a strong quilting heritage, with an active quilters’ guild and a dedicated quilting exhibit in the Summit County Historical Museum located in the courthouse building. Quilting has long served as both a practical craft and an art form, symbolizing creativity, storytelling, and cultural identity. Quilting, at its core, is the process of stitching together various patterns to create a unified whole. This concept mirrors the communities along the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail, each with its own unique identity and cultural expression. By incorporating quilt-inspired patterns into public art along the Rail Trail, Summit County can celebrate these individual communities while visually uniting them into one cohesive design.
The Rail Trail itself serves as the thread that weaves these communities together, much like the stitching in a quilt. The inspiration for this idea comes from barn quilts, which are common in rural areas of the southeastern United States. These large, colorful quilt patterns often carry symbolic meanings, representing local history, heritage, or values, and act as a form of community branding. Similarly, incorporating quilt-inspired public art along the Rail Trail can serve as creative placemaking, reinforcing
the Rail Trail’s role as a cultural and physical connector across Summit County. By embracing “Quilted Together” as the theme, this project honors local traditions while fostering a sense of unity and shared identity among the diverse communities linked by the Rail Trail.
The SCPAAB seeks artwork that incorporates the ‘Quilted Together’ theme to reflect the culture, history, and strong community of Coalville and Summit County, UT. Artwork submissions should engage the viewer well beyond the project's installation, and be crafted to withstand functional use and the elements. Preference may be given to Artists who use sustainable practices in their work.
The artwork will be free-standing and finished artwork must be anchored. Artist(s) shall make no alterations, additions or improvements in or to the premises, other than the installation of the artwork. Artists or Artist teams shall provide details and engineering calculations demonstrating the manner of the artwork installation.
Once the details, safety, and engineering are reviewed by Summit County Manager, Summit County Deputy Manager, and the Summit County Planning Department, the Artist may be responsible to provide additional information, clarification of their proposed approach, or revised details to demonstrate compliance. Once the engineering and details are approved by the Summit County Manager, Summit County Deputy Manager and Summit County Planning Department, fabrication and installation can proceed.