Utility box art

Utility box art is a form of street art whereby utility boxes on city streets are painted or otherwise covered in artwork.

Virgin of Guadalupe as utility box art, colonia Roma, Mexico City

In cities around the world
  • Auckland, New Zealand: Paul Walsh series of painted utility boxes. Walsh is inspired by Internet memes.[1]
  • Fort Collins, Colorado: Started the first program in the country to paint utility boxes as graffiti abatement in 2004.[2] The program has been very successful, and paid artists have painted over 375 boxes in the city as of 2021.[3]
  • Glendale, California: in January 2014, city officials solicited proposals from artists to paint murals on 26 utility boxes downtown, as part of a greater effort to make the city more arts-friendly like fellow Los Angeles suburbs Santa Monica and Pasadena.[4]
  • Los Angeles: in Downtown Los Angeles, utility boxes were painted in a project taking place during January 2014. The micro-public art project began in Boyle Heights along the First Street Corridor and expanded into downtown and is led by councilman José Huizar.[5]
  • Santa Ana, California: in July 2013, as part of efforts to beautify the city, the Santa Ana City Council set up a Utility Box Art Project and launched a call for artists, with a stipend of $700 for each box plus $200 for supplies.[6]
  • Sequim, Washington sponsors a utility box art program and so far painted utility boxes include those by artists Gary Robertson, Katelin Ghormley and Dale Faulstich.[7]
  • Madison, Wisconsin began placing art on City-owned utility boxes in fall of 2016.[8]
  • Costa Mesa, California: In early 2015 the City Of Costa Mesa Cultural Arts Committee launched a utility box art program that features beautiful work from several talented artists. Local photographer Wade McDonald who is known for his unique colorful underwater marine life images can be found on the corner of Bristol & Paularino next to the Hilton Hotel not far from the world-renowned South Coast Plaza Shopping Mall.[9]

References
  1. "Urban Van Gogh paints outside the (utility) box". HLN. Archived from the original on 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  2. Trowbridge, Julia. "Art in Public Places Program decorates the city, supports local artistry". The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  3. "Transformer Cabinet Murals || Art in Public Places". www.fcgov.com. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  4. "Glendale officials seek artist proposals for downtown murals on utility boxes". Glendale News-Press. January 18, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  5. "Painted Utility Boxes Move West to Downtown's 'Indian Alley'". KCET.
  6. Evan Senn (October 24, 2013). "Santa Ana Seeks Artists to Beautify Utility Boxes". Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  7. "Pillars, or utility boxes, of Sequim". Sequim Gazette. January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  8. "Art on Utility Boxes" (Press release).
  9. "Utility Box Art | City of Costa Mesa". www.costamesaca.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
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