Painting the Town Art Competition for Utility Box Designs

Building on the success of several years of traffic utility box projects, the Shaker Arts Council (SHAC) is pleased to announce this year’s project: Painting the Town.  SHAC is sponsoring a juried art competition for the design of utility boxes located in Shaker Heights.

Local artists are invited to participate.  Please download the attached template and application here.  All designs must be submitted electronically on the template provided.  Designs and applications must be submitted to SHAC via email (info@shakerartscouncil.org) no later than Friday 22 March.

Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 21 years old and live or work in Shaker Heights.  Applicants who reside in the Shaker Heights School District or are a member of the Shaker Arts Council also are eligible.  Learn how to become a member here.  Artists whose designs have been installed in three (3) consecutive years may not apply.

Applicants may submit more than one (1) design, but each must be submitted in a separate email.  There are no entry fees.  Artists retain all copyrights to their artwork.  Artists whose designs are selected will receive a $500.00 stipend after the work is installed.

All entries must be anonymous.  Do not sign your submittal nor indicate your name on the submitted design document.  André Taylor, Art Educator, will serve as this year’s jury chair.  Since all of the boxes have slightly different dimensions, artists whose work is selected may have to reformat their designs to fit the matched boxes.

Design Criteria:

• Black or very dark backgrounds are not permitted.
• Words are not permitted in the designs, per the City of Shaker Heights code.

• Art created in non-digital media must be digitized for submittal.
• Final designs must be submitted as camera-ready, 600 dpi files.

By submitting a design proposal, all artists agree to:

• allow SHAC to use images of the designs on printed materials, websites and social media for promotional purposes only;
• allow SHAC to photograph the work;
• allow SHAC to submit the proposal to the city’s Shaker Heights Arts Task Force for their final approval and to obtain the artist’s modification of the design, if necessary, to meet the city’s requirements.

Artists whose works are not selected are welcome to ask SHAC for jury feedback.