Local artists perform or present short works in a variety of media, including music, dance, film, and spoken word. Held the third Sunday of each month.
Three original pieces, each lasting 12 minutes or less, will be followed by a brief Q&A session with the artists. This program is modeled after 12 Minutes Max, a performance laboratory originated by On the Boards in Seattle.
Dancer-choreographer Jasmine Stack, along with musicians Paige Miller, Ben Swisher and musician-librettist Dallin Law are four collaborators that have brought to life a short horror opera entitled “Driving West on Highway 83 Late in the Afternoon”. The opera is a pensive, philosophical reflection on the current state of the Great Salt Lake, the threat of its death, and the impact such an event would have on the survival and psyche of those who depend on it.
Christopher Lynn is a Utah-based artist, curator, writer, and educator whose art has been shown nationally and internationally. His video essay A Visitor Arrived at the Museum Today (2023) is a response to a career in museums and galleries combined with a love of avant-garde science fiction of the 1960s and ’70s. His experimental program Open Captions (2025) randomly generates sound effect captions for film stills. His solo exhibition, Copper Ouroboros, is currently on view at the Salt Lake City Arts Council's Finch Lane Gallery, January 13–February 21.
“While” is a new work created by Myriad Dance, a local project-based contemporary dance company. Drawing inspiration from a variety of poetry and prose, the piece explores overlapping seasons of life, including the curious, the vibrant, the chaotic, and the soft. The piece features collaborative choreography and dancing by Kendall Fischer, Fiona Gitlin, and Sierra Stauffer, and is presented with live classical guitar accompaniment by Monty Dillon.
12 Minutes Max is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague Paul Reynolds: artist, librarian, and patron of the arts. The 12 Minutes Max program is a curated monthly performance series featuring experimental short works by local artists in many different disciplines, including dance, music, film, and more. Each piece is followed by a Q&A with the artist. 12MM is modeled after the program originated by On the Boards in Seattle.
This event takes place on the third Sunday of each month.
AGE GROUP: | Teens | All Ages | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Performances & Presentations | Music | Arts & Creativity |
NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed for renovations.
Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.
A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.