Craft Lake City is proud to debut a new addition to its free seasonal public art series with Celebration of the Hand: Emergence, on view now through September 2025 along the sidewalk of Broadway (300 S) between 200 W and 200 E, in downtown Salt Lake City.
This exhibition unfolds across three conceptual works, expanding into 14 large-scale evolving segments created by Utah-based digital artist and Annual Craft Lake City DIY Fest STEM Exhibitor Andrew Jensen.
Each piece in Emergence begins with a set of precise instructions delivered as lines of code written by artist Andrew Jensen that define the structure, rhythm and logic of the work. These digital blueprints are brought to life by a pen plotter, a robotic arm that uses real pens to draw every detail onto paper. While the machine holds the pen, it is Jensen who decides exactly how each line will form and connect.
Over time, these simple instructions build into intricate patterns, much like how a song is built from a few repeating notes or how a quilt is stitched from many small pieces of fabric. Emergence invites viewers to consider the relationship between technology and nature, showing how digital tools can create designs that feel alive when guided by thoughtful human design.
The public is participating in a virtual Lunch and Learn on September 16 at 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. The public virtual discussion online event will give the community the opportunity to discuss the ideas behind the display with Jensen and learn about the artist’s methods.
About the Artist
Andrew Jensen is a software engineer and creative technologist. He makes code that makes art. His work explores the fuzzy boundaries that exist between opposites: organic and synthetic, analog and digital, order and chaos, nature and computation.
www.andrewjensen.io
About Celebration of the Hand: Craft Lake City curates this rotating outdoor art exhibition in fourteen metal frames adjacent to the sidewalks in downtown Salt Lake City (located on the north and south sides of Broadway, 300 South, between 200 West and 200 East). Celebration of the Hand installations are open to the public 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and are free of charge.
Celebration of the Hand, made possible with support from The Center for the Living City and The Temporary Museum of Permanent Change, designed to enhance and reflect Salt Lake City’s cultural district through the work of Utah artists. It is dedicated to engaging the public in ideas that matter. Informed by activist Jane Jacobs’ fascination with self-organized urbanism, Celebration of the Hand exhibitions focus on conveying central themes and ideas, making them relevant to our community through art.
About Craft Lake City: Founded in 2009 by Angela H.Brown, Executive Editor of SLUG (Salt Lake UnderGround) Magazine, Craft Lake City® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to educate, promote and inspire local artisans while elevating the creative culture of the Utah arts community through science, technology and art. Craft Lake City strives to further define the term “Craft,” by modernizing the definition for handmade creativity.
craftlakecity.com @craftlakecity
About the Temporary Museum of Permanent Change:The Temporary Museum of Permanent Change is a community based, participatory project that uses the ever-changing development processes underway in Salt Lake City as catalysts to animate city life. This museum has no specific address. Rather it is a construction of ideas, installations and illuminations that comprise a new way of seeing our city.
About the Center for Living City: The Center for the Living City advocates for vibrant, adaptive, equitable communities created by and for everyone. We work to inspire civic engagement and leadership, invite creative urban solutions, and expand our understanding of the ecology of cities. Our purpose is to advance social, environmental and economic justice.
centerforthelivingcity.org @centerforthelivingcity
