Jackson Hole Public Art Lights Up The Town
By Visit Jackson Hole 
Art invigorates. Art inspires. Art transforms.
Passing the Center for the Arts on a cold winter night, I look up and see bright lights moving across the dark sky. The indigos, violets, and yellows migrate throughout a dozen art installations more than 25 feet overhead. I notice a family taking in the scene, kids looking up at the sculptures with mouths open and fingers pointing.
In the moment, I understand fully the power of public art. It's written on the faces of the kids: amazement. It's easy to see in the movements of the parents: joy. And when a smile unintentionally spreads across my own face, I notice it in myself: a celebration of community.
GlowNights
One of Jackson Hole Public Art’s most noticeable and famous projects, GlowNights takes place each winter in Jackson Hole. GlowNights typically includes two or three local installations in town and in Teton Village. Every year, new installations by new artists grace Jackson Hole’s public spaces starting on the winter solstice and lighting up the long winter nights into January. The ultimate celebration of light, every GlowNights public art installation has one thing in common – they glow as brightly as the faces of those who witness them.
GlowNights Celebrations take place annually at each location and showcase a celebration of the season with hot beverages, sparkling bites, and glowing live entertainment.
Moonshot 5×5
Jackson Hole Public Art’s Moonshot 5×5 event is a celebration of innovation in art! This live art event is where public art ideas go to thrive.
Five well-known local artists pitch public art ideas to a jury, who decides their fate. One winning project will come to life with the generous support of a grant from JHPA. Few art events hold palpable excitement and energy like this.
Wild Walls
Walking through downtown Jackson to eat and shop, I notice a number of walls and structures that double as colorful attractions. An otherwise mundane brick wall of an alleyway catches my eye with it’s bright purples and blues. Painted onto the wall by a local artist is a story about the first locals of Jackson Hole – the bear, elk, bison, and moose who share our home. Driving into town, I always crack a little smile when I see fish leaping and diving out of the Orvis building. And when I go to grab a beer with friends, I’m pleased to see the famous hops silo transformed into a colorful mural.
These are all projects of Jackson Hole Public Art’s “Wild Walls” throughout the years, depicting the greater Yellowstone ecosystem in the streets of Jackson Hole.
Square to Summit Chairlifts
In 2023, Jackson Hole’s Snow King Resort retired a beloved chair lift that scaled the local town hill for decades. A new gondola replaced the two-person chair, allowing skiers and boarders to get to the summit faster and opening the gate for other Snow King evolution like a summit restaurant and stargazing structure. But for many long-time locals, the old chair lift held family memories and life lessons. It wouldn’t be retired without the community paying its proper respects.
Jackson Hole Public Art, Snow King Resort, and the town of Jackson came together to repurpose the old chairs as public benches that connect Town Square to the top of Snow King. Now, locals and visitors alike can rest on the colorful old chairs and feel the legend that lives in their metal frames.
Mama Mimi
A giant troll lives in Jackson Hole. She resides deep in the heart of the beloved “R Park” and snacks on sticks and mud. But despite her gigantic size, she’s friend, not foe, to all who love Jackson. Mama Mimi is her name, and locals have an intimate relationship with her. Families play on her legs, smile at her warm and welcoming face, and are lifted up by her humungous hands.
Of course it was Jackson Hole Public Art who invited her to the area and set up her home. And the community never fails to take of her, cleaning her off after storms and protecting her environment with love.
It’s not hard to see the value of public art when you see the joy it brings to the Jackson Hole community. But installations this large and incredible don’t come free.
Jackson Hole Public Art encourages all who find joy, solace, or inspiration in their art to donate to the local nonprofit. Donations and grants make the mission of JHPA possible: to forge partnerships for the integration of art info any environment, to inspire lasting cultural, educational, and economic benefits.