Dumke Arts Plaza
Mission
The Dumke Arts Plaza is an arts-focused community space, dynamic outdoor gallery and intimate performance venue, designed to inspire creativity, elevate
varied perspectives and anchor Ogden as a hub for contemporary art.
About
The Dumke Arts Plaza features major art installations as well as community-led arts programming ranging from small concerts to dance performances to video art. It is a space to engage with art in all its forms, but also a place for everyday gatherings — sharing lunch with a friend, or enjoying a family visit.
The plaza represents the transformation of a blighted motel property into an innovative civic space that brings the community together around art in Ogden’s dynamic Nine Rails Creative District. The plaza’s design, inspired by the region's dynamic landscape, has the flexibility to support many types of art, from large-scale installations to small performances, and includes an LED screen for displaying film and video art. An elevated platform known as the plinth provides more space for arts programming, as well as a new perspective on the plaza and its surroundings. The Dumke Arts Plaza is a welcoming public space, with interactive play elements, unique lighting, benches and waterwise landscaping.
The plaza creates an exciting opportunity to share world-class art exhibitions with the community in an outdoor civic space. Weber State University’s Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery and the Department of Visual Art & Design are proud to have curated the inaugural exhibition at the Dumke Arts Plaza on December 3, 2022, that featured a selection of work by the internationally renowned American sculptor Chakaia Booker.
A unique collaboration among project partners and community members has shaped the Dumke Arts Plaza. The Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation is the lead funder for the project. The Foundation’s gift of more than $2.2 million to support the Dumke Arts Plaza is intended to honor the legacy of its founders and their commitment to Ogden. Ogden City and Weber County RAMP also contributed major funding to the project. The Foundation, Ogden City, RAMP, Weber State University and Ogden Contemporary Arts, along with community stakeholders, collaborated closely to develop the vision for the Dumke Arts Plaza. The plaza design was led by renowned firm, Sasaki Associates, working with Ogden-based firms IO LandArch and Union Creative Agency.
Through a partnership with Ogden City, the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery curates rotating, outdoor exhibitions at the Dumke Arts Plaza. These exhibitions showcase the work of regional, national and international artists and share world-class art with the community in a dynamic, outdoor civic space.
| Visit the Dumke Arts Plaza at 445 25th St., Ogden, UT 84401 |
Photo Gallery
