A new sculpture titled “Gathering,” created by artist Susan Zoccola of Seattle, Washington, was installed at Holladay Village Plaza on Sept. 26. The city of Holladay celebrated the completion of the sculpture with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 7.

According to a Holladay City press release, adding public art to the Holladay Village Plaza has been the city’s goal for over a decade. A $150,000 grant from the Salt Lake County Tourism, Recreation, Culture and Convention (TRCC) support program was secured by Assistant City Manager Holly Smith making the sculpture vision a reality in substantially funding the new art piece. Salt Lake County imposes a tax under the Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, Convention, and Airport Facilities Tax Act to support the TRCC program, which helps eligible organizations develop relevant projects to meet the current and future needs of Salt Lake County’s residents and visitors. 

Located at the corner of 2300 East and Laney Avenue, the sculpture celebrates the aspen canopy of the Wasatch mountains and stands as a representation of the deep roots of Holladay, the second oldest community established in Utah. Zoccola was selected from 130 applicants to mark the central gathering place in Holladay for her symbolic visionary connection between nature and community.

Holladay City formed a selection committee of stakeholders and canvased the nation for an artist’s work to be a landmark for the community. Zoccola had spent time in Utah over the years and had been impressed by the yellow aspen leaves scattered across the Wasatch during fall. It was her conceptual design of aspen trees and their golden leaves that awarded her the opportunity to create the plaza sculpture. The sculpted leaves are coated with durable metallic paints creating a gilded appearance of bronze and highlights of gold. The gold highlights reflect light from the sun in different places on the sculpture at different times of the day and year adding a changing quality similar to the gold leaves of the aspen in the fall. 

“The beauty of the natural world inspires me every day,” Zoccola said. “I feel lucky to be a public artist as I really enjoy making unique artworks that are specific to a particular place. I enjoy the process of visiting and learning about the site and meeting the people who might encounter the artwork on a daily basis. This process inspires me to make a piece I would only create for that place—a fun collaboration.” 

Mayor Rob Dahle provided the opening remarks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony recognizing Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, former Sen. Jani Iwamoto, TRCC representative Robin Chalhoub, former Holladay Community Development Director Paul Allred, who were in attendance. He thanked the Holladay Arts Council and members of the city council for their many years of ongoing support of the project. Dahle acknowledged City Engineer Jared Bunch who was instrumental in helping to oversee the installation of the sculpture which was fabricated and installed by the Metal Arts Foundry located in Lehi, Utah.  

“The artist, Susan Zoccola, titled the sculpture ‘Gathering,’ which both marks a place in our community and an activity that binds us together,” Dahle said. “We are thrilled to have this sculpture in the heart of our community and are grateful to Susan for representing our goals well.” 

The sculpture recognizes and supports Holladay City’s status in the program Tree City USA. The program is run by the Arbor Day Foundation to encourage the valuation and celebration of trees. A stunning tree canopy covers about 40% of Holladay, with some trees dating back to the 1850s. The trees maintain Holladay’s historic charm and keep residents rooted in the community.

With the addition of the sculpture, Dahle mentioned this year’s holiday tree will be in a new Village Plaza location. He emphasized the annual tree lighting and festivities will continue as in past years on the evening of the first Monday after Thanksgiving.λ