UTAH AS
I SEE IT.
The Public Submission Phase Has Closed
Thank you, Utah, for over 4,000 thoughtful designs and ideas.
Choosing a new state flag will better represent Utahns as we are now. It’s a chance to talk about the symbols and colors that represent our shared identity. From the open responses and suggestions of thousands of Utahns, we will find a 21st-century flag to represent a 21st-century state.
We asked you: "How Do You See Utah?"
From February to April 30th, we invited Utah residents – of all ages and demographics – to submit up to three flag designs. We have now arrived at the Review Phase. Submissions will be reviewed by the design subcommittee, who will help choose finalists.
After a team of professional artists create designs based on textual feedback, all designs, both public and professional, will be put on display for the diverse Design Review Subcommittee.
Finalists will be open to public comment in August.
Process + Timeline
Utah has long served as a meeting and mixing ground of diverse people from a variety of religious, cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.
WHY DOES REPRESENTATION IN UTAH’S HISTORY MATTER?
There was religious and cultural diversity among Indigenous peoples before Euro-American settlers arrived, and that diversity has only increased over time. Latter-day Saint pioneers in the nineteenth century came from various parts of the globe, including northern and western Europe, but also South Africa, India, Italy and the Pacific Islands. Both enslaved and free African Americans arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 and have been here ever since. Utah has a rich historical diversity of Asian Americans, Latin-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Greek and Italian “new pioneers.” Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Latter-day Saints, and those of other faiths or of no faith at all have also long called Utah home.
UTAH’S FLAG HISTORY
- Utah’s original flag was created in 1903 to be used at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Utah Gov. Heber M. Wells asked the Daughters of the American Revolution to oversee its creation.
- The blue flag with the state seal and the year 1896 in white thread was known as the Governor’s flag until 1911.
- A manufacturer redesigned it in 1912, adding a gold circle around the seal. The Utah State Legislature adopted those changes in 1913.
“This is not an effort, at all, to take away our history. This is an effort to modernize a symbol of our great state.”
Rep. Stephen Handy, of the Utah Flag Task Force
Learn MoRe
People might ask: Doesn’t Utah have enough things to worry about? That’s a valid question.
Why Now?
This effort truly is about more than a flag, it's a chance to have a conversation about who we are today and the importance of choosing a 21st-century flag to represent us all. Learn more about the plan to select a new flag.
Process + Timeline
