Grow the Flow’s digital billboard shows the Great Salt Lake’s water level—here at 39.8%—to increase public awareness and environmental urgency about the lake’s condition. Image by Steve Coray.

First there was the billboard. Now the phone booth. Interventions by public and private organizations on behalf of the Great Salt Lake continue at pace.

Since February of this year, a new billboard in Salt Lake County has been bringing the Great Salt Lake’s condition into sharp public focus. Created by the nonprofit Grow the Flow, the billboard displays the lake’s current water level as a percentage full, making critical environmental data more accessible and visible. The lake currently sits at 39.8% capacity—close to its level in 2021, just before it hit a record low. The billboard first appeared on northbound I-15 around Murray but now is located just before the 600 South offramp in Salt Lake City.

Designed to complement dashboards from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, the campaign seeks to turn awareness into action. Executive Director Ben Abbott says the goal is to spark awareness as a first step toward restoration. Managing Director Jake Dreyfous adds that greater transparency can empower public advocacy and inform policy decisions aimed at protecting this vital ecosystem.

That sense of urgency and connection is echoed in another public art initiative: the Great Salt Lake Hopeline. Created in collaboration with the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Wake the Great Salt Lake project, the Hopeline invites people to share their memories, hopes, and reflections about the lake through a storytelling hotline and mobile phone booth.

The pink phone booth debuted at Fisher Brewing in March. Attendees explored the pink phone booth, listened to recorded messages, and shared their own thoughts about the Great Salt Lake. The event also featured lake-themed art projects and environmental advocacy groups, creating a space where participants could reflect on the lake’s future. “We want to create a space where people can engage with the lake in a personal and meaningful way,” says Nick Carpenter, co-creator of the Hopeline.

A participant listens to messages and shares reflections at the Great Salt Lake Hopeline booth—an interactive storytelling installation inviting personal responses about the future of the lake. Image by Steve Coray.

The phone booth will make its second appearance on April 4th at Replenish, a silent auction organized by Grow the Flow at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. During the event, the public is invited to a free art build where they will be able to make origami pelicans and brine shrimp finger puppets while they enjoy refreshments and live music from Michael Louis Austin. Works that have been donated by local artists and which have been on exhibition since March 5 will be auctioned off to raise funds for Grow the Flow’s efforts to inform the public about Great Salt Lake. The University of Utah’s chapter of Grow the Flow will host a live music event at the Sugar Space Arts Warehouse, Saturday, April 12. Performers include Avintaquin, Local Kin and Cesley.

Outside of individual events, visitors can continue to interact with the Great Salt Lake Hopeline by dialing a dedicated hotline (979-GSL-HOPE). Callers can leave a message to the lake, listen to its sounds, or hear messages shared by others. The project is also sharing collected messages through a podcast, now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud. The Hopeline team is accepting invitations to bring the booth to community events throughout the year. For more information, visit gslhopeline.org or follow on Instagram.

Volunteers with the Great Salt Lake Hopeline project pose in front of a pink backdrop during the booth’s debut at Fisher Brewing in Salt Lake City. The interactive installation invites the public to reflect on and respond to the condition of the lake. Image by Steve Coray.

Wake the Great Salt Lake will also host The Great Salt Lake: An Uplifting Artistic Oasis, an exhibition of works from the Salt Lake County Visual Art Collection which opens Friday, April 18, 2025, with a reception from 5–7 p.m. at the Salt Lake County Government Center (2001 South State Street, South Building). Curated by Salt Lake County Art in Public Places in partnership with Wake the Great Salt Lake, the exhibition highlights the lake’s ecological and cultural importance through artworks exploring themes of reflection, memory, and environmental stewardship. The exhibition continues through December 15, 2025.

Also on our radar: Confluence, a free virtual reading hosted by River Writing, will take place Thursday, April 10, from 6–7 p.m. MST on Zoom. The event features uncensored readings from a diverse lineup of writers and opens with poet Sarah May, who will share selections from her new book Our stories are our bodies. May, a Salvadoreña poet and artist, draws inspiration from the Great Salt Lake as a sacred and transformative space. To attend, register at riverwriting.com/events.

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.