Downtown Ogden mural project complete: ‘It’s all about us, all of us’
David "Don Rimx" Sepulveda smiles Thursday, July 1, 2021, after signing one of the five murals he painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden.
David "Don Rimx" Sepulveda smiles at a ceremony on Thursday, July 1, 2021, marking the completion of the five murals he painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden.
David "Don Rimx" Sepulveda and son Kye attend a ceremony on Thursday, July 1, 2021, marking the completion of the five murals he painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden.
OGDEN — As soon as he started painting, artist David Sepulveda said the good vibes started coming his way.
Since arriving in Ogden about a month ago, he said, “all that I’ve been feeling is love. All the neighbors that walk by every day, every night around here, they always give us a smile, some words of (encouragement), ‘Yo, keep doing it.'”
Sepulveda — also known as Don Rimx, his preferred name, actually — was picked by the City of Ogden to paint murals on the five blank walls on the city-owned parking structures along Grant Avenue in the city center. The aim of the project, part of broader efforts to bolster the arts in Ogden, was to beautify the area and add color.
TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner
The first of five murals painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden by artist Davis “Don Rimx” Sepulveda is pictured Thursday, July 1, 2021.
He recently finished the job, working long hours that sometimes extended into the early hours of the morning, and on Thursday, city officials and other well-wishers gathered to mark the project’s completion. Sepulveda signed one of the five murals, located on the parking garages just north and south of 23rd Street along Grant Avenue, and city arts officials lauded him and his work.
In just four weeks, Sepulveda and his family “have become part of our Ogden family,” said Christy McBride, manager of Ogden’s Arts, Culture and Events Division. Sepulveda, aided in the actual painting of the giant 30-by-50-foot murals by Pedro “Spear” Torres, a fellow artist, traveled here with his wife and two kids.
TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner
The second of five murals painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden by artist Davis “Don Rimx” Sepulveda is pictured Thursday, July 1, 2021.
McBride lauded Sepulveda’s work as exceeding her expectations. And though he was to leave Ogden on Friday for his next project, she said his spirit “will remain here in Ogden on these beautiful walls and in our hearts.” Sepulveda, who is originally from Puerto Rico but now based in Florida, beat out 153 other artists who applied to handle the project.
The murals depict the people who have helped shape Ogden and offer a historic timeline of the city’s development. The first, northernmost mural depicts the Utes, one of the indigenous tribes of what is now Utah. The next one depicts the immigrants who helped shape the area and the third features a train, a nod to the area’s significance as the completion point for the transcontinental railroad. The fourth features a woman and evokes Western U.S. culture while the fifth focuses on local jazz legend Joe McQueen.
TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner
The third of five murals painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden by artist Davis “Don Rimx” Sepulveda is pictured Thursday, July 1, 2021.
“This project resonates with our community well because it is based on our people,” Lorie Buckley, arts coordinator for Ogden, said in a message to the Standard-Examiner. “The people have made Ogden what it is, that is why this project is so important. It’s all about us, all of us.”
At Thursday’s ceremony, Buckley called the mural project, with a budget of $175,000, one part “of the bigger picture of our blossoming arts scene here in Ogden.” Other artistic initiatives include plans for a public art sculpture at the southwest corner of 25th Street and Washington Boulevard and ongoing construction of the Dumke Arts Plaza near The Monarch building, which houses space for artists.
TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner
The fourth of five murals painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden by artist Davis “Don Rimx” Sepulveda is pictured Thursday, July 1, 2021.
“The plaza, with help from Weber State University College of Arts and Humanities, will bring in major art installations from big named artists that you would normally never see in Ogden, let alone in Utah,” she said. More broadly, the city is undertaking development of an arts district in Ogden’s core area, called the Nine Rails Creative District.
As for Sepulveda’s work, Buckley said it has generated a strong outpouring of support from the public and adds to the ambiance along Grant Avenue. The city had already installed a bike path along part of the street and the murals will be lit with fixtures that are yet to be installed. The varied initiatives, she said, make “for an amazingly beautiful street to walk, drive or cycle on.”
TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner
The fifth of five murals painted on the walls of the parking garages along Grant Avenue on either side of 23rd Street in Ogden by artist Davis “Don Rimx” Sepulveda is pictured Thursday, July 1, 2021.
Sepulveda sees his artwork as a means of connecting the community, underscored by the back-and-forth spurred during the process of painting.
“It’s been a really good way to connect with the neighbors and to get closer, to know each other,” he said. “That was the goal of the project.”