December 02, 2024
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Local artists bring life to DeKalb utility boxes

Eight utility boxes adorned with murals across downtown

By Shaw Local News Network
Artist Aaliyah Steele visits the utility box mural created with her artwork at Lincoln Highway and Fourth Street in DeKalb.

Artist Aaliyah Steele visits the utility box mural created with her artwork at Lincoln Highway and Fourth Street in DeKalb. (Photo provided by City of DeKalb)

DeKALB – Utility box murals created with artwork by community members have popped up across downtown DeKalb.

The City of DeKalb and its Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission have completed installation of eight utility box murals this year, according to a news release. The murals were created by using photos of paintings or digital designs to make vinyl wraps, and installed on the utility boxes.

The artwork used to create the wraps was submitted by community members.

“I want to thank the talented artists who allowed us to use their original creations to make a more vibrant downtown,” Mayor Cohen Barnes said in a news release. “Their artwork is an excellent example of the creative people that can be found in DeKalb, and we plan to continue to tap into this creativity to make the City a fun and beautiful place to live, work and visit.”

With this year’s installations, the City has now completed 11 utility box murals. They are located throughout the downtown between First and Seventh Street and the Vaughn parking lot to Van Buer Plaza. The selected artwork was recommended by the Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission, according to the release.

The utility box mural on South Fifth Street in DeKalb was created using a painting by artist Elisa Boughner.

The utility box mural on South Fifth Street in DeKalb was created using a painting by artist Elisa Boughner. (Photo provided by City of DeKalb)

“The utility box and Paint-A-Plug public art initiatives are great opportunities for community members to showcase their artistic talent,” Commission Chair Brad Hoey said in a news release. “On behalf of the CCEC, I wish to thank all the artists for their contributions, and I know the commission will do its part to sustain these public art projects for the foreseeable future.”

The artists for this year’s utility box murals are Zach and Melissa Beck, Elisa Boughner, Julia Fauci, Rudy Galindo, Tammy Judkins, Brian Livingston, Aaliyah Steele and Trent Taylor.

The utility box mural in the Vaughn parking lot in DeKalb was created using a painting by Julia Fauci.

The utility box mural in the Vaughn parking lot in DeKalb was created using a painting by Julia Fauci. (Photo provided by City of DeKalb)

The utility box murals were funded by a T-Mobile Hometown Grant awarded to the City for public art, according to the release.

Over the past three years, the city and CCEC have put the grant to work to take the City’s public arts initiatives to a new level. The grant-funded projects also included a two-story Belonging mural on the side of City Hall, a 500-foot Huskie Pride mural in the Annie Glidden Road underpass and the DeKalb Veterans Memorial Mural overlooking Van Buer Plaza.

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