The year is 2006. I am wearing my favorite Hannah Montana shirt, my hair in pigtails, my sticky little hand clasped to that of my father. We cross the street, walk around the hill, and into the library. The librarian whose name I have long forgotten, but who always remembered mine, hands me a plastic blue card; I sign my name with three hearts. Somewhere deep inside my five year old body, I knew that the library was my home. It always would be.
I don’t sign my name with hearts anymore, but I still regard libraries as a place of safety and belonging. To me, they are a perfect representation of community — art, knowledge, creativity, respect, and friendship all weaving between the bookshelves. Likewise, Utah Lake is important to the people here because of its history and cultural impact. As BYU professor Ben Abbott says in the article Getting to Know the Utah Lake Ecosystem, “Utah Lake… is the centerpiece of our community.”
To merge these two definitions of community, I decided to physically bring them together. Here you will find almost 400 local sources — books, musicians, podcasts, businesses, etc., each one a piece in Utah’s jigsaw puzzle — merged with an image of Utah Lake. This is by no means a comprehensive list; I primarily chose community contributors that have had an impact on my life or the lives of those I love. My hope for this project is for people to recognize that Utah Lake is not relevant simply because it is a mass of water next to our houses; nor does a library earn its meaning because its doors are open to the public. Rather, it is the people who bring value. It is the authors, performers, entrepreneurs, and patrons who make these wonderful places centerpieces of the community. We can bring our passions and our natural environment together to create something beautiful, together.
I don’t sign my name with hearts anymore, but I still regard libraries as a place of safety and belonging. To me, they are a perfect representation of community — art, knowledge, creativity, respect, and friendship all weaving between the bookshelves. Likewise, Utah Lake is important to the people here because of its history and cultural impact. As BYU professor Ben Abbott says in the article Getting to Know the Utah Lake Ecosystem, “Utah Lake… is the centerpiece of our community.”
To merge these two definitions of community, I decided to physically bring them together. Here you will find almost 400 local sources — books, musicians, podcasts, businesses, etc., each one a piece in Utah’s jigsaw puzzle — merged with an image of Utah Lake. This is by no means a comprehensive list; I primarily chose community contributors that have had an impact on my life or the lives of those I love. My hope for this project is for people to recognize that Utah Lake is not relevant simply because it is a mass of water next to our houses; nor does a library earn its meaning because its doors are open to the public. Rather, it is the people who bring value. It is the authors, performers, entrepreneurs, and patrons who make these wonderful places centerpieces of the community. We can bring our passions and our natural environment together to create something beautiful, together.