A new coat called Open Your Eyes
Salt Lake City has selected Jiyoun Lee-Lodge to create the second mural on Out of the Blue, Stephen Kesler's humpback sculpture in the roundabout at 900 South, 1100 East, and Gilmer Drive. The design was revealed during 801 Day on August 1 and formally announced by the city on August 3.
Open Your Eyes draws from Great Salt Lake, Utah's wide skies, and moving water. The published design uses pink-and-blue gradients, flowing wave forms, and dots of color in a continuous treatment that changes as a viewer moves around the sculpture.
The detail hiding in plain sight
One of the Whale's eyes will be open and the other closed. The asymmetry gives the mural its name and turns a familiar landmark into something that rewards a second look.
Whale Fortunes calls each mural a coat. That is our language, not the title used by the city or either artist. The sculpture remains Out of the Blue; Open Your Eyes is the new artwork painted across its surface.
How Salt Lake City chose the design
The Salt Lake City Arts Council says 35 artists applied through a county-wide call. Four finalists presented proposals to the Salt Lake Art Design Board and neighborhood stakeholders, who unanimously selected Lee-Lodge's concept.
The process also drew on responses from more than 1,700 residents gathered through the city's What's Next for the Whale survey. The city says that input helped define the commission and was shared with artists while they developed their proposals.
When the Whale changes
The Arts Council's current schedule places on-site painting from late August through September 2026. The completed mural is due to be celebrated at Whale Fest on Saturday, October 3.
The dates describe a public-art project still in motion. Weather, site conditions, and city plans can change, so this page will be corrected when the official schedule changes rather than pretending the Current holds a calendar perfectly still.
The Whale's imagined coat closet
The real sculpture receives a new artist's mural every few years. These are our playful daydreams about that changing tradition—not past murals, official proposals, or previews.
Swipe through 3 imagined coats
Which imagined coat should the Whale wear next? Your vote stays on this device.
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