Duarte’s utility boxes will soon have a fresh new look! At its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Duarte City Council approved the Utility Box Art Program Guidelines and 2024 Call for Artists, kicking off the Utility Box Art Program.
The Utility Box Art Program was created to transform utility boxes into beautiful art pieces that recognize the unique character of the Duarte community and create spaces that people find welcoming and inclusive. The goal of this program is to not only give local and regional artists an opportunity to showcase their talents, but also to promote vibrant and memorable public art throughout Duarte that enhances the urban landscape.
The Utility Box Art Program Guidelines summarize the program’s mission, objectives, and operational procedures and outline the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including the Art Ad Hoc Committee, City Council, and participating artists.
The 2024 Call for Artists is a practical tool for prospective artists that outlines the application process, eligibility criteria, project themes, and submission requirements. While the guidelines provide a high-level overview of the program, the Call for Artists provides actionable steps.
In addition to the approval of the program guidelines and call for artists, the City Council approved a budget amendment of $15,984 for Fiscal Year 24-25. This budget amendment will cover costs to the four utility box locations selected to start the program, such as vinyl wrap costs, stipends, and repairs. The final design selection is anticipated to be completed by November 2024 and the installation of the wraps are scheduled for January 2025, dependent upon vendor availability. Based on available utility boxes and funding, the City will fund three or more projects annually.
The implementation of this program comes at the recommendation of the Arts Ad Hoc Committee, which reviews, researches, and recommends public art relating to art on freeway walls and utility boxes. The Committee has been meeting once a month since November of 2023 with the main focus of establishing a Utility Box Art Program in Duarte.
After researching various cities that have implemented their own similar programs, the Art Ad Hoc Committee chose to use vinyl wraps to cover each utility box with an artist submitted design and/or artwork. Vinyl wraps were selected as the medium of choice due to several factors, including: longevity, inherent graffiti protection, and ease of maintenance. Currently, only the 17 utility boxes owned by the City are eligible for the program. City staff plans to explore partnership opportunities to expand the program to other publicly and privately owned utility box locations in the future.
City staff will oversee the Utility Art Box Program, in partnership with a third-party vendor to install the selected designs as a graffiti-resistant vinyl wrap on each box, and manage all repairs for vinyl wrapped boxes for up to three years.
For more information about the Utility Box Art Program, please contact Jason Golding, Planning Manager, at (626) 357-7931 ext. 231 or via email at jgolding@accessduarte.com.
