Young people have a lot to say—and when it comes to the future of the Great Salt Lake, they’re using every creative tool they have to speak up.
In partnership with the Wake the Great Salt Lake initiative (a public art project of the Salt Lake City Arts Council and Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge), several of our apprenticeship cohorts have spent the past year using creative media to spark action around one of Utah’s most urgent environmental issues: the rapid decline of the Great Salt Lake.
As part of this collaboration, and with support from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, Spy Hop youth created:
- 🎧 Soundscapes and songs that capture the beauty and ecological importance of the lake, from chill beats with birdsong, to funky hip hop, to acoustic and windy lofi.
- 📚 A series of zines—handmade, heartfelt, and wholly youth-made—that explore the lake’s science, nature, history, and future: including the dangers of a dried up lake.
- 📹 Two short films that center the lake’s decline through comedic and visual storytelling, as well as a behind-the-scenes take from what the project—and the lake—mean to teen filmmakers.
These projects don’t just tell the story of a shrinking body of water. They raise a collective voice in defense of a future. For these teens, speaking up for the lake is also about speaking up for their own generation—one that will live with the consequences of today’s choices.
Several pieces of work were featured locally in the Salt Lake Tribune: you can find the article on the zines here, and the article on the soundscapes here.
Where to find the work
- All this teen-created work can be found at the Main Branch of the Salt Lake Public Library on the west wall of the second floor until September 8th!
- Zines have been distributed across the valley through community partnerships with Friends of Great Salt Lake, at events like Grid Zine Fest, and will be on display again during our upcoming youth art exhibition, Pixel Gallery. They can be viewed online and downloaded, thanks to our friends at the Great Salt Lake Collaborative.
- Videos and audio pieces were recently celebrated at our Fall and Spring Apprenticeship Showcases. Soundscapes and can be explored online thanks to our friends at the Great Salt Lake Collaborative. Videos are being released, you can check out the first one here!
These projects are more than assignments—they’re acts of advocacy, designed to inform, inspire, and ignite action.
Why it matters
The Great Salt Lake is more than a landmark. It’s an ecosystem, a home, and a critical piece of Utah and our economy. Its rapid decline is a complex crisis, but youth at Spy Hop have shown that art and storytelling are powerful tools to raise awareness and demand change.
As one zine reads: “Hope isn’t lost! The Great Salt Lake doesn’t need to meet the fate of desert lakes before it.”
We’re proud to stand with our students and our partners in this work. Together, we’re waking the lake—and waking up the community to inspire action toward sustainability and conservation.