A community art show · Hearten House
The Birds Still Sing
Some birds migrate. Some stay through the whole winter and sing anyway.
Maybe you've noticed how a bird just keeps singing, even after a long flight, even in a season that isn't its own. This show starts there. Each artist gets a local Utah bird to learn from: its habits, its home, the route it flies. What you find becomes the seed of a piece, made in whatever medium calls to you. You don't need to call yourself an artist to join.
Fill out the sign-up formThe person behind the birds: Syd Sneddon
Hi! I am an artist, therapist, and the Director of Programming and Experiences at Hearten House. My work leans on embodied, experiential, and creative approaches to healing, and that same energy shapes everything I build. I've been drawn to birds for a long time: something about their wisdom, their migration, their resilience that feels worth holding on to. The Birds Still Sing comes from that place. I have been wanting to build an experience for artists for a while now.
The place this lives
Hearten House is a fully embodied, experiential, and creative-focused mental health treatment center in downtown Salt Lake City. We believe healing happens in community, through connection, through creativity, through being witnessed. This show is one way we're opening our doors to artists and neighbors who want to be part of something meaningful, whether or not they've ever called themselves an artist before.
How it works
Get your bird assignment
You'll be assigned a local Utah bird, grouped into one of four migratory routes.
Learn its story
A short guide walks you through its habits, habitat, and migration, with journal prompts to help the story settle in before you start making anything.
Create intuitively
Let what you've learned shape the piece, in any medium, at your own pace. You don't have to depict the bird literally, and you don't have to call yourself an artist. A group Zoom and one-on-one sessions with Syd are there if you want them.
Show it, November 7
After five weeks, everyone's pieces come together and displayed at Hearten House. A show about healing that happens in community.
The details
- Confirm by
- September 25
- Show date
- Saturday, November 7
- Cost
- Free to participate; the show will be donation-based for attendees
- Who it's for
- Adults 18+ only. Any artist, any level, plus community members
- Support along the way
- Optional Group Zoom and one-on-one sessions with Syd
- What's next
- First in a planned series. The next show will be in Spring 2027.
Ready to join in?
Fill out the form below and I'll follow up with your bird and everything you need to get started.
Fill out the sign-up formSome birds migrate. Some stay through the whole winter and sing anyway. Either way works.
