San Marcos Arts Commission Calls For Traffic Control Box Art Designs

The San Marcos Arts Commission is issuing a call for artists to create designs for traffic control boxes along Ranch Road 12 in San Marcos as part of the Traffic Control Box Art Program.

Applications are due Friday, Jan.17. Artists are invited to submit designs for a single box or all three boxes as a series.

If submitting entries for all three boxes, the City is looking for designs that will adhere to a common theme. Selected artists’ designs will be digitized, printed on vinyl wrap and applied to the boxes.

The Traffic Control Box Art Program is designed to enhance the city by adding works of art to the streetscape on surfaces that are often targeted by graffiti.

Artwork on traffic signal boxes functions as a form of communication to a moving audience with the goal of creating a safe, inclusive and interesting urban environment.

Project Details and Goals

Successful proposals will foster community pride and evoke the unique spirit of the San Marcos community. Finished works will be on functioning equipment that will eventually need repair or replacement, although the City hopes to keep the art intact when this occurs.

Much like the City’s Mural Arts Program, the goal of the project is to continue intentionally growing free public art displays in San Marcos while helping to decrease the instances of graffiti.

Artists should meet the following objectives when creating their designs:

• Include all visible sides of the traffic signal box
• Be thoughtful about having large open areas on their artwork that could provide vandals a space to deface the work 
• Adhere to a common theme among all three boxes if submitting designs as a series

Application instructions

Full details about the project, including submission instructions and points of contact, are posted online at www.sanmarcostx.gov/callsforartists. The application deadline is Friday, Jan.17, 2020, at 5 PM.  For more information, contact Arts Coordinator Trey Hatt at ghatt@sanmarcostx.gov.