The City of Helper continues to build on its reputation as one of the most artistic cities within the state of Utah, and that reputation grew even more on Friday, July 26 when the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil “Vantage Point,” a new piece from artist Shane McKenna.

Helper Mayor Lenise Peterman first spoke at the ceremony, explaining how this project was funded through the public art grant which is sponsored by the Carbon County Tax Advisory Board, and that the project was then approved by the Helper City Council.

McKenna spoke regarding the piece, first discussing what it meant to him to have this piece displayed in Helper. “I started exploring Helper 11 years ago and I just fell in love with it,” Mckenna explained,” I just wanted to do something within my talent scope for the town. I’m thrilled and humbled by how well it’s been received and the opportunity to do it.”

“Vantage Point” is made out of timbers that are indigenous to the Helper area, something which McKenna explained was the most challenging part of creating the piece. “Almost none of these woods are available commercially, so we had to harvest those timbers and cut them with our own sawmill.” 

To view “Vantage Point” and other incredible pieces, you can visit the Helper Museum located at 294 South Main St in Helper. The museum’s operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, you can visit the museum’s website here.