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The Urban Arts Festival is moving into the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, expanding its offerings and bringing a legend of hip-hop to headline.

The event —which director Derek Dyer calls "the largest free arts event in Utah" — will take over Salt Lake City's Gallivan Center, at Main Street and 200 South, for two days, Sept. 17 and 18, Dyer announced at a news conference Friday.

"We couldn't think of a better place to move it into than the heart of Salt Lake City," Dyer said.

The festival, marking its sixth year, had been a Saturday-only affair, held for the past three years on The Gateway's Rio Grande Street, drawing 40,000 art lovers last year. The Utah Arts Alliance, which puts on the festival, has its Urban Arts Gallery at The Gateway, as well.

Moving the festival to the Gallivan Center, "was just part of the natural evolution of the festival as we've grown," Dyer said, adding that Gallivan "seemed like a natural fit."

The festival will provide a stage for more than 50 musical acts — in such genres as hip-hop, rock, blues and dance music. It also will feature some 200 artists and vendors, about double last year's lineup, selling paintings, photography, prints, jewelry, sculpture and clothing. Members of Salt Lake City's Food Truck League will park close by, selling food and drink.

The headliner, performing on Saturday, Sept. 17, is Grandmaster Flash, whom Dyer called "one of the fathers of hip-hop."

"He was the first one to put his hands on vinyl, and not just touch the sides," Dyer said.

Grandmaster Flash rose from The Bronx with his crew, The Furious Five, to revolutionize the art of spinning records, pioneering such techniques as scratching, cutting and backspin. Their 1982 single "The Message" — with its insistent chorus "Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge / I'm trying not to lose my head" — was one of the first prominent hip-hop songs with a strong social message.

"The Message" was one of the first 50 songs chosen for the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2002. In 2007, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also new to this year's Urban Arts Festival:

• The Hard-N-Paint Street Basketball League, a three-on-three tourney, running all weekend.

• A custom car culture area, featuring some 30 hot rods and motorcycles, along with demonstrations of the nearly lost art of hand pinstriping.

• A three-on-three break-dancing battle, organized by the BBoy Federation.

• A section for "digital graffiti" projection art and virtual reality artworks.

Dyer and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski also announced that Utah Arts Festival has received an "Our Town" grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant, worth $25,000, is given to collaborations between municipalities and arts organizations. It's only the fourth such grant given to a Utah group.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

When • Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18.

Where • Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, Salt Lake City.

Hours • Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.

Admission • Free.

Information • urbanartsfest.org.