Gerard & Kelly. Relay. 2023. Courtesy of Drew Rane/Carlson
Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, has announced plans to establish an art park at the Powder Mountain ski resort in Eden, Utah. Having acquired the resort in 2023, Hastings drew inspiration from the Storm King Art Center in New York's Hudson Valley. The park will span 12,000 acres and will be accessible to the public. A nonprofit organization currently formed by Hastings will own the artworks, designed to enhance visitors' connection to the surrounding landscape.
Hastings stated, “At Powder, we want every experience—from the ski resort to the residential community to the outdoor art museum—to be intentional, and the integration of art into the mountain is a manifestation of that consideration. We aim to transform Powder into a multi-season destination that blends recreation, art, and meaningful connection for our entire community.”
The project is a collaboration between Hastings and Alex Zhang, the chief creative officer of Powder Mountain, with curation led by Matthew Thompson, a former curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, alongside contemporary art curator Diana Nawi. Notable artists commissioned for the site include Nikita Gale, Raven Halfmoon, Arthur Jafa, EJ Hill, Jenny Holzer, Paul McCarthy, Gala Porras-Kim, and Davina Semo. Existing works will feature contributions from land artist Nancy Holt and James Turrell, whose light installation, Ganzfeld Apani, created for the 2011 Venice Biennale, will be located in a nearby pavilion.
So far, two installations have been completed: Gerard & Kelly’s Relay (Powder Mountain), 2023, and Susan Philipsz’s We’ll All Go Together, 2007. Works by Hill and Semo are anticipated to be installed by the start of the 2024–25 season, with the art park expected to be fully completed by 2026.
Scottish artist Susan Philipsz’s latest installation at Powder Mountain uses her unaccompanied, unaltered singing to create intimate public spaces. Her raw voice, reminiscent of a lullaby, evokes a sense of fragile intimacy, transforming public areas into private moments. Despite lacking formal training, Philipsz’s unstudied voice connects deeply with listeners, mirroring the familiar experience of singing in the shower or humming a baby to sleep. The strategic use of silence in her pieces adds moments of wonder and surprise, enhancing emotional resonance and engagement.
Sayart / Amia Nguyen, amyngwyen13@gmail.com
