Our Project Story
In 2024, a silly, scrappy, sketchy kitty leapt from the pages of my sketchbook onto a gessoed wood panel and begged me to paint it cyan.
I named him KTTYCT, and before I knew it, this loosely lined feline—with wonkidoodle eyes—was leading a parade of other, similarly sketched critters out of my notebook and onto the walls of a downtown urban art gallery, premiering in a month-long show entitled “U R M<0> BST FRND.”
The animals’ colors, lines, and lopsided forms struck me in the best way, and I vibed deeply with their message: each of us can be our own best friend.
After the show wrapped, I was determined to keep making more of these silly animals while finding ways to quirkify stoic, somber environments—places like hospitals, financial districts, or anywhere with a super-strict HOA.
Luckily, a friend who had attended my show knew of an art partnership sponsored by SLC’s downtown art district, The Blocks. “You should apply for it, Dallas,” they said. So, I did.
Guess what? My dream came true: they told me they wanted to see my animals quirkify as many SLC spaces as possible.
To make that happen, I knew I needed potent collaborators. So I reached out to some incredible kids—kids who are medically fragile—and asked if they’d help me create a few ABSLTLY AMZNG ANMLS.
1. The Kids. All of my collaborators live with extraordinary circumstances—rare diseases, being immunocompromised, or facing monumental emotional challenges. These circumstances do not define them—heck no; they have given our KID-Laborators wisdom and creativity by the truck load.
2. The Animals. Each animal is a portmanteau (a French way of saying “mash-up”) of two native-to-Utah animals, with one being a threatened species, and the other thriving. Animals hold a soft spot for most of us, so we wanted to bring that universal, soft attention to a few animals from our gorgeous corner of the globe.
ANMLS
ABSLTLY AMZNG?
WHAT MAKES OUR
3. The Material. Our giant, puzzle-piece critters are wooden sculptures—cut from Extira plywood. These panels are designed to repel water while still allowing our rich, vibrant acrylic paint to do its job: make our audience stop in their tracks and smile.
4. The Team & Partners. There are a lot of people who came together to make this thing happen; each member of our team played a part. I couldn’t have done it without them. And do you know what the coolest thing is? We are all better friends after making this art together because that is exactly what making art together does.
Are There
AMZNG ANMLS
In Your City?
ABSLTLY!
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
Can you imagine if we create AMZNG ANMLS all over the globe? With all sorts of great kids? I can.
Every city would benefit from our ANML’S silly-and-kind vibe for their visitors and residents, and help audiences realize that kids living in extraordinary circumstances are connected with their culture-and-art scenes, too.
Who Is Dallas
Andrew Graham?
Dallas Andrew Graham is a collaboratively driven Salt Lake City artist, graphic designer, poet, and writer. His imaginative expressions have also led him to work as a creative director, NGO executive, and independent publisher.
He has helmed a wide variety of projects and titles, but a few of his most notable include: Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s Artist Award (2021), Artist-in-Residence at The Leonardo (2014 & 2015), Publisher of 3,651 Years Lived: Global Poetry & Prose Reflecting the Pandemic (2021), and Creator of the Red Fred Project (2013)—through which he turned children living with life-threatening illnesses into published children’s book authors.
ABSLTLY AMZNG ANMLS: Salt Lake City is his latest body of work—a culmination of a few of his favorite things: large-scale public art, silliness, and collaborating with children living in extraordinary circumstances.