Joliet’s latest public art venture downtown was highlighted with a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week.
Downtown visitors now may notice utility boxes painted with images reflecting musicians and music.
Local artists joined the Joliet City Center Partnership (JCCP) and city officials at the brief ceremony Wednesday to call attention to the Downtown Music Box Project.
“The main reason we did this was to bring beauty downtown and promote our artists but also to support or businesses downtown,” JCCP Executive Director Priscilla Cordero said.
The Music Box Project is one of a number of efforts underway to enhance the downtown business district. Ten utility boxes now are covered with paintings designed to depict musical images.
Each utility box artwork also includes a QR code that visitors can scan to listen to the music it represents.
Artist Sarah Comoda of Romeoville said her box on Joliet Street depicts the song “Come and Get Your Love” by the rock band Redbone.
“It’s near and dear to my heart,” Comoda said of the song. “It’s about coming together for love, and it’s got a good beat.”
Comoda also was an artist for the downtown “Ready to Rock” project last year, which featured 12 sculpted guitars also depicting musicians and their music.
Artist Rene Rodriquez of Joliet, who also painted a utility box, is a muralist who has done a number of public art projects in the Chicago area and other states.
“I love being part of the city that I grew up in,” Rodriguez said of his contribution to the Music Box Project. “I’m happy that the Joliet is supporting the arts a little bit.”
Rodriguez said he would like to see more public art in Joliet, including murals.
The city has had a problem with past murals, especially those at the downtown railroad viaducts, chipping away with weather and rain.
The utility box art is protected from the weather with coverings provided by Distinct Visual Solutions, a downtown Joliet business.