They were just nondescript signal boxes people passed by daily without notice. Now those same boxes are colorful works of art turning heads throughout Springfield.
Seven local artists have created art wraps for signal boxes that are brightening up the community in an ongoing community beautification effort just finishing up another phase.
Two years ago, The Chamber of Greater Springfield’s Public Art Committee partnered with the City of Springfield to brighten downtown Springfield through public art. The committee includes representatives from various local nonprofits, arts organizations and local artists.
“As we toured other communities, we consistently saw the positive impact of public art on the vibrancy of each community,” said Chris Schutte, vice president, destination marketing + communications for the Chamber of Greater Springfield.
The Rose City and Welcome to Springfield murals added in the last year as well as three-dimensional art, banners and the box wraps are being added in phases.
An open call drew 30 submissions for the box wraps with the requirement being local artists would be prioritized, with seven artists chosen for this round.
Artists include Abby Thornton, Sabrina Tackett, Molly Mattin, Eric Inlow, Jerri McDorman, Beckie Neff and Aileen Cave. Schutte said the committee gave no specific direction as to the content, opening it to the artists’ ideas.
“We felt like this would lead to a more diverse and creative showcase of local art and we were right,” he said. “Some pieces are whimsical while others have a historic focus.”
As the signal boxes’ sizes vary, so does the art. They include everything from animals to positive messages to Springfield native John Legend. The latter is derived from a painting that is part of the Springfield Museum of Art’s current Juried Members’ Exhibition.
Schutte said the artists were rewarded with stipends for their work.
Expect more public art in the future. The next phase will include an open call for larger, mural-sized art that will include two to three pieces to appear on downtown walls on applied vinyl installations and later more signal box wraps expanding out from the downtown core.
“Once that project is completed, we will move forward to a more formal, hand-painted mural in which we will cover the artist’s material costs and provide a stipend,” he said.
An open call for artists will go out the week of Aug. 16. Schutte said the goal is to have art submitted by the first week of September, choose two to three finalists by mid-September and install the art by early October.
For more information, go to Visit Great Springfield’s Facebook page.
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