Artist Abigale Palmer with the completed mural Dare Mighty Things, now a permanent feature of USU’s Gardner Learning & Leadership Building.

From vibrant concept to monumental installation, Utah artist Abigale Palmer’s newest public art project is a celebration of ambition, growth, and collaboration—perfectly suited for its home in Utah State University’s Carolyn & Kem Gardner Learning & Leadership Building (GLLB).

Titled Dare Mighty Things, the six-panel, 25-foot-wide oil painting now graces a central wall in the new GLLB, a state-of-the-art, 45,000-square-foot facility dedicated to experiential learning and leadership. Located within the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, the building emphasizes “learning by doing” and houses several co-curricular centers focused on entrepreneurship, data analytics, and leadership development.

Palmer’s mural was inspired both by the surrounding Logan landscape and the metaphorical terrain students must navigate as they pursue education and growth.

“Mountains are a powerful symbol of adventure, beauty, strength, bravery, and courage,” Palmer notes. “This composition mirrors the surrounding views and invites students, faculty, and visitors to reflect on their own journeys—where they’ve been, where they are, and the peaks they’re striving to reach.”

Palmer’s studio filled wall-to-wall with panels as she began building the layered landscape of Dare Mighty Things.

The work was selected through a competitive public art commission process. Palmer, a participant in our 35×35 exhibition in January 2024, submitted a detailed 20-page proposal complete with mockups, a timeline, and research into the building’s mission. She made the presentation the old-fashioned way—printing 13 hard copies. Her dedication paid off, and she was awarded the contract to create the signature piece for one of USU’s most forward-looking buildings.

Over the course of nearly a year, Palmer took plein air trips around Logan, built and painted the panels in her packed studio, and moved the work between multiple locations to evaluate color, lighting, and composition. “I used all the tools in my belt,” she says. “Painting, digital edits, and peer reviews with artist friends.”

Light strikes Abigale Palmer’s massive mural celebrating the mountains near Logan, Utah.

The result is a vibrant, dynamic landscape that not only connects to the outdoors visible through the building’s large windows, but also visually anchors the mission of the GLLB. The mural’s title, Dare Mighty Things, echoes a central theme of the Huntsman School’s leadership philosophy—drawn from Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “Man in the Arena” quote—and reinforces the idea that bold ambitions, met with courage and teamwork, can lead to extraordinary accomplishments.

Palmer’s mission as an artist is to bring joy and energy into everyday spaces: “I believe that what we surround ourselves with visually has an impact on our emotions. I want my artwork to breathe vitality into a room, the way fresh flowers or a bowl of fruit does.”

With the GLLB’s emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and bold thinking, “Dare Mighty Things” serves as a fitting visual anthem. Both the space and the artwork it houses challenge and inspire all who pass through them to scale their own mountains—and to do so, together.

All images courtesy of the artist.

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