The Art of the Mountain: Inside Powder’s Open-Air Museum

Alongside sweeping views, stunning peaks, and crisp mountain air, visitors at Powder Mountain also discover contemporary art pieces woven into the landscape. Our open-air art museum fuses immersive art and recreation with expansive pieces that seem to grow from the earth. They elevate the traditional ski experience and provide a chance to discover something beautiful and thought-provoking while exploring wild terrain.

A Ski Resort Reimagined by Artists

Cue the Powder Art Foundation

At the heart of it all is Powder Art Foundation, our non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the legacy of land art and supporting the vision of contemporary artists on Powder Mountain. 

Meet the Artists Putting Their Stamp on the Snow

Davina Semo – Listener, Reflector, and Mother

Davina Semo’s Listener, Reflector, and Mother turn sound into ceremony, inviting reflection beyond the bounds of time. Semo’s monumental bronze bells, perforated with holes, allow light to spill inside and distinctively disperse sound, a metaphor for the flow between our internal lives and the external world.

Gerard & Kelly – Relay

Bringing together movement and the environment, Gerard & Kelly created a canopy of colored light that riders move through on their way up the hill through a bespoke installation of their piece, Relay. Slide onto the Sun Tunnel lift and find yourself aboard a rideable installation surrounded by a spiraling rainbow.

Susan Philipsz – We’ll All Go Together

With We’ll All Go Together, Susan Philipsz invites the listener to reflect on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth through an auditory experience. Her voice echoes off the glades along Powder Chamber 3 and invokes an emotional, introspective moment as you glide through the trees.

Griffin Loop – Launch Intention

Griffin Loop’s Launch Intention is a fifty-foot steel sculpture of a paper airplane set into the hillside; bold, raw, and impossible to ignore. Viewed from afar, it seems to emerge from the ridgeline itself. This interactive piece symbolizes child-like imagination and reminds you to free yourself, set intention, and launch into action.

Not Your Average Utah Art Museum

Weaving Wonder Into the Mountain

Powder Art Foundation fuses art and recreation amidst the trails, glades, and lift towers of the ski resort. This summer, construction we started construction on a trail that connects all pieces along a 9-mile multi-use loop trail. During the summer, the trail will be accessible to the public via hiking, running, and biking. During the winter, guests may visit the installations on skis or a snowboard with a valid day ticket or Season Pass.

What’s Coming Next

The art on the mountain right now is just the beginning. Over the next few seasons, Powder Mountain will welcome new works from some of the most influential names in contemporary art, including James Turrell, Nancy Holt, Jenny Holzer, EJ Hill, Arthur Jafa, Nikita Gale, Gala Porras-Kim, and Raven Halfmoon, with more artists to be announced soon.

Diverse Artists, Different Perspectives

The art foundation is actively working to highlight women, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ voices because they are significant contributors who keep culture moving. By creating a living, breathing community where creativity and the natural world intertwine, we provide a dedicated space where these artists help others feel seen, heard, and felt through their work.