ArtSpark project camouflages utility boxes on downtown Chattanooga streets

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ArtSpark project

There's nothing particularly memorable about streetside utility boxes. Too bland to be an eyesore, they just sit there taking up sidewalk space with their big, gray boxiness.

"They're just kind of there," agrees Amy Donahue, director of marketing and communication for River City Co., which oversees economic development in downtown Chattanooga.

But an ArtSpark initiative coordinated by River City is working to change that. These days, when you drive or walk along Chattanooga's streets, you might see a swirl of bats, a crowd of cats or even the arms of a pink octopus on the loose.

Fifteen bland utility boxes now sport eye-catching designs dreamed up by professional artists from the Chattanooga area. Another five boxes have been similarly adorned by high school students through an EPB pilot program, the ArtSpark Goes to School Challenge.

The professional artists taking part answered an open call to artists within a 16-county area around Chattanooga and were required to submit a resume and a sample design for consideration. The chosen artists were then sent a design template based on the size and shape of the utility box, and their final designs were made into a vinyl wrap to brighten corners and banish boring. The designs range from cartoon characters to dreamscapes to abstracts to portraits.

EPB, meanwhile, wanted to engage area students in camouflaging its utility boxes. Elizabeth Hammitt, director of environmental stewardship and community, worked with the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to come up with lesson plans. The goal was to provide students with a real-world project that would simulate the experience of a professional artist.

With "The Beauty of Electricity" as their theme, the students learned about electricity while creating their art, part of the challenge's focus on STEAM projects (science, technology, engineering, art and math).

"The creative and critical thinking skills that students demonstrated through their artwork reflect how visual art prepares us for today's workforce," says Laurie Melnik Allen, executive director of SCEA. "This project's success was evident through the wide range of ideas presented, thoughtful insights and interdisciplinary connections students made."

The students' designs now adorn EPB-owned electrical boxes from the North Shore to the Southside. Designs by the professional artists can be seen from Aquarium Way to 11th Street.

Donahue says River City looped in various community partners for this first-time project, including Public Art Chattanooga since the city owns the traffic signal boxes the professionals decorated.

All are "very visible," she says. "They are literally on the street corners."

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.