Naperville has long embraced its vast collection of public art, so much so that in 2022, the City revamped and rebranded its Special Events and Community Arts (SECA) grant program to include the integration of free and accessible art for all to enjoy.
Since that time, SECA has supported several projects, including Erin Smith-Franczyk’s “Towering Sunflower” on the north wall of the Liam Brex building on Main Street and Richard Lo’s whimsical “Chinese Kite Festival” on the south wall of the DuPage Children’s Museum.
Now a new project is on the horizon, and the City is calling upon enterprising Naperville teens to carry it out. The call for artists released on February 28 invites eligible students to create original designs that will transform six streetlight controller boxes into works of art.
The concept stems from a suggestion made by members of the Public Works Department.
“We covered several boxes in south Naperville back in 2023 as a collaboration between School District 204 and the City,” said Dawn Portner, Naperville City Clerk. “Since it generated a lot of positive comments, we wanted to extend this project to north Naperville and focus on the area surrounding Naperville Central and Naperville North High Schools.”
Interested parties may contact Portner at portnerd@naperville.il.us for details, including guidelines, specs, a timeline, and the submission process. All entries must be received by April 30 and will be reviewed by members of the Public Art Program. Final selections will be announced by May 20, and the winning designs will be professionally reproduced and installed by June 30.
There are no fees or costs associated with the project for the entrants.
“Our goal is to promote public art in Naperville and to add some color to somewhat plain pieces of traffic equipment in different parts of the City,” Portner said. “We have so much talent in Naperville with our teens; we just want to highlight and show off that talent.”
