Provo bookstore Mosaics announces closure; new location in the works

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald
The exterior sign of Mosaics bookstore in Provo is shown Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.As the last day of 2024 approaches, a Provo bookstore touted as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community also is preparing for an abrupt end.
In a social media post Tuesday, Mosaics, which serves as a community bookstore, performance venue and the headquarters for the United Drag Alliance, announced the closure of its current location, just over a year after opening. The business’s last day open will be Tuesday.
But it appears Mosaics will continue on in a new home, though a location has not been revealed.
In an email sent to the Daily Herald, Mosaics stated it isn’t planning to announce details regarding the new facility or what operations it will entail until after the new year, but it did confirm that the business is staying in Utah County.
The news comes after robust fundraising efforts to keep the space open in its current location while also amassing enough to cover costs of expanding services.
As the Daily Herald reported last month, the center had raised enough to keep doors open until the end of the year but needed a total of $200,000 to remain in place.
In the summer of 2023 when Tara Lipsyncki, executive director for United Drag Alliance and co-founder of Mosaics, was putting plans in motion to open the bookstore in Provo, she said she knew it would be something special but had no idea the impact it would have on so many people.
“We have put thousands of hours and much blood, sweat and tears into this space, and while it’s heartbreaking to say goodbye to it, we are hopeful for the future,” Mosaics said in a statement on its social media.
According to the social media post, around $70,000 was raised through a fundraising account for Mosaics, which will be used to open a new resource center.
Aside from financial hardships, the current bookstore and Lypsyncki have faced a series of bomb threats and other instances of danger within the past year and a half.
Yet, amid the adversities, Mosaics and the United Drag Alliance say they plan to stand defiantly and provide a bevy of resources to the LGBTQ+ community and people of color in Utah County.
“So while we say a sad goodbye to our home that helped us grow, we say hello to a new home that will continue to teach us, guide us, and allow us to give our all to our community,” Mosaics said in its statement.