Salt Lake City’s historic Japantown is entering a new chapter of cultural visibility and remembrance through public art. The Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, in partnership with the Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA) and the community-led Japantown Art Committee, announces that Cole Eisenhour has been selected to design a mural for Japantown Street.
The mural will be installed later this summer on the north-facing wall of the Multi-Ethnic Senior Highrise (MESH), overlooking 100 South. Eisenhour was formally introduced during the 2026 Nihon Matsuri on Saturday, April 25, where he engaged with community members.
Honoring a Historic Cultural Corridor & A Community-Led Vision for the Future
Salt Lake City’s Japantown once spanned several downtown blocks and served as a vibrant hub for Japanese American life, with restaurants, markets, community institutions, and a Japanese language school.
During World War II, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated, including many from Salt Lake City who were sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. In the decades that followed, displacement and urban renewal policies led to the demolition of nearly all of Japantown in 1966 to make way for the Salt Palace.
Today, a single block along 100 South remains—anchored by the Japanese Church of Christ and the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple—serving as both a site of memory and an active cultural corridor.
Guided by the Japantown Design Strategy (2021) and the ethos of Okage sama de—“I am who I am because of you”—this project reflects a community-led vision centered on remembrance, resilience, and cultural continuity.
Artist Selection Process
The selection of Eisenhour was led by the community-based Japantown Art Committee—Troy Watanabe, Jean Tokuda Irwin, Liz Ward, and Cindy Yamada Thomas—with support from the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Community Reinvestment Agency, and the Utah Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
He was chosen from four finalists from the Public Art Program’s 2026–2028 Pre-Qualified Artist Pool, each invited to develop proposals informed by extensive community input and the lived and historical context of Japantown.
A Mural Rooted in Resilience, Culture, and Future of Japantown
The community-informed mural—shaped through this process—centers on Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, where cracks are illuminated rather than concealed, transforming what has been broken into beauty and strength.
The mural unfolds through interconnected visual “fragments” that reflect generations of Japanese American life in Utah. Flowing gold elements tie these moments together, symbolizing connection, healing, and continuity.
The design weaves together references to incarceration at Topaz, cultural traditions, community figures, and future generations, framing Japantown not only as a site of memory, but as a living, evolving community. Eisenhour describes the work as a “visual diary,” composed of distinct yet connected panels that together tell a fuller story of Japantown.
This mural marks the first phase of a broader public art initiative along Japantown Street, building momentum toward future, permanent installations.
About the Artist
Cole Eisenhour is a muralist and illustrator whose work transforms public spaces through vibrant, narrative-driven design. His practice centers on accessibility, storytelling, and community connection, creating murals that reflect the identity and history of the places they inhabit.
Eisenhour's Website
Eisenhour's Instagram
Project Partners
This project is managed by the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program and funded by the Community Reinvestment Agency of Salt Lake City, and made possible through a community-led process in collaboration with the Japantown Art Committee, Japantown community representatives, Nihon Matsuri, and the Utah Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
For updates on this project and other work by the Public Art Program, follow @slc_publicartprogram on Instagram. The Public Art Program is a service of the Salt Lake City Arts Council, a division of Salt Lake City’s Department of Community and Neighborhoods.
