SALT LAKE CITY — Volunteers at a local public orchard and garden are devastated after one of the murals made for the garden by a local artist was vandalized this weekend.
The Og-Woi People's Orchard and Garden is a community collective project that rests near the Jordan River Parkway Trail. It's cared for by dozens of volunteers like Tom King.
"It does bring art into the community, the ability to learn about where food comes from, be able to help the plants that grow the food do well, gardening tips and tricks," King said. "People can be inspired and find education on how to, by virtue of this existing in the neighborhood."
King spent his Sunday covering two of the three murals in the garden with hardboard because of recent vandalism.
The artwork represents the purpose of the garden with two paintings on each side of a small cover made by King and another volunteer. The vandalized mural was written in Spanish. King says the artwork has been in the garden for three years with no problems, but in the last six weeks, they've seen multiple incidents of vandalism. On the mural, you can see the faint remnants of a previous tagging incident that volunteers tried to clean up with soap and water.
"The art installation involves probably a couple dozen or two dozen hours on site — of the artist putting the paint there, plus their talent and vision and ability was given to this project, and now it's defaced," King said.
King is hopeful that the local artist will be able to rework the art in the spring. He has the idea of covering the murals with a type of plastic that would adhere to the structure, so if they are graffitied, they could cleaned or replaced.
As King works with what he calls the "existing reality," he's staying committed to the garden's mission.
"I choose to take actions that do have a positive improvement value to the community, such as commit a portion of my energies to a project that's open to everyone," King said.
