- Eight large canned food sculptures made from over 27,000 food cans are now displayed across Salt Lake County.
- There are bins for people to donate food at each of the sculpture locations.
- The canned food sculptures are part of the nationwide CANstruction competition.
Salt Lake County residents may encounter a variety of impressive sculptures made from canned food in the county’s different public buildings as part of America250 celebrations.
Eight large sculptures made entirely of cans of food are on display until the end of July. The sculptures were put together on May 15 by eight teams of designers and architects as part of a partnership with Utah Food Bank and AIA Utah.
The eight sculptures are also part of CANstruction, a national competition “where architects, engineers and other allied professionals create teams to build unique structures out of cans of food, and then the food is always donated to local food banks,” according to Amy Harris Roberts, the executive director of American Institute of Architects Utah chapter.
Roberts shared that the group had a goal of using at least 25,000 cans and ended up using 27,994 cans for the structures depicting iconic American themes. The sculptures include the Artemis II spaceship and moon, the Liberty Bell, the USS Constitution battleship and a full America-themed birthday cake.
Katy Fleury, communications director for Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, said the state put out a request to municipalities and counties to join in on the America250 celebrations. Wilson asked a group of employees to “come up with a way to celebrate that also gave back to the community,” Fleury said. That’s when the county reached out to AIA Utah with the idea to collaborate on the sculptures and participate in CANstruction 2026.
Going to see the eight canned food sculptures is something that families can do over the Memorial Day weekend.
Giving back to the community
According to a release from the county, Wilson said that the food cans “are a symbol of what Salt Lake County does best: coming together to take care of one another. Come see the sculptures, cast your vote, and donate if you can.”
The food used in the sculptures will be donated to the Utah Food Bank after July, and Salt Lake County residents are also encouraged to donate food. At each of the eight sculpture locations are bins where people can donate food. People can also donate online through the county’s website.
“We wanted to also partner with Utah Food Bank and not only donate the canned foods made in this culture, but also anchor it around gaining attention for a food drive that we’d run throughout the summer and try to turn all the excitement and celebration around America250 into a way to give back,” Fleury said.
She added that going to see the sculptures gives residents something fun to do as they donate and give back.
The CANstruction competition
Roberts said about 100 cities each year participate in the CANstruction event with a variety of awards given out including best original design, structural ingenuity and people’s choice.
Each of the eight teams who did the builds were made up of architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators and other professionals from the design world.
“It’s a really neat opportunity for the design industry to come together and give back and showcase their talents, to be honest,” Roberts said.
The eight sculptures are submitted together to the competition and all had to be built at the same time. Teams have just eight hours to put the structures together.
Roberts shared that because of the collaboration with Salt Lake County and displaying the creations in public buildings, more people will be able to see the structures.
“I’m hoping … Some young kids who might be going in, you know, to the rec center to play basketball or to go swimming might start to think like, “Oh, architecture, what’s that?” And maybe one day come into the profession. So to me, it’s just, it’s such an exciting collaboration,” she added.
A full list of the canned food sculptures
- The Artemis II spaceship and moon, honoring the first U.S. lunar mission since 1972 — located at the Salt Lake County Government Center North Building
- The Liberty Bell — located at the Salt Lake County Lions Recreation Center
- The USS Constitution battleship — located at the Salt Lake County Draper Senior Center
- A column commemorating the U.S. National Park Service scene — Salt Lake County Viridian Event Center (West Jordan Library)
- A red, white and blue slice of birthday cake — located at the Salt Lake County Magna Kennecott Senior Center
- A cityscape — located at the Salt Lake County JL Sorenson Recreation Center
- A hot-air balloon — located at the Salt Lake County Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center
- A full America-themed birthday cake — located at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex