Are you an illustrator, painter or street artist who would like to get your work into the public eye? You might find the opportunity this Spring as Dublin City Council’s community art project, Dublin Canvas, returns for a third season.
The initiative aims to brighten up public space by commissioning works to grace traffic light control boxes, which can be found dotted along every roadside in the city. These large, rectangular, utilitarian metal boxes are a necessary part of the urban infrastructure; at best they go unnoticed, but at worst they are an eyesore, often heavily tagged.
Dublin Canvas started out as one of many initiatives trialled as part of DCC Beta Projects, which the council unfortunately decided to shelve this past December. The Beta Projects tested out ideas aimed at utilising public space in creative ways, to solve problems and improve the lived experience of the city. You might remember the pop-up ‘Street Parks’ that replaced parking spaces with wooden benches and flower pots, or the large planters that were installed so as to collect rainwater from gutters and prevent sewers overflowing in residential areas.
Dublin Canvas was deemed to be a resounding success. The report completed at the end of the Beta trial concluded that the boxes were incredibly popular with both locals and tourists, and appeared to significantly lessen the need for the council to repaint the boxes when they were tagged and stickered, a time-consuming and expensive process. While some of the boxes painted since 2015 have since succumbed to vandalism, for the most part the works are still vibrant and visible.
Submissions are open now until 2nd May – for more details visit dublincanvas.com. Artists and designers from any background (professional, student, hobbyists) are invited to apply. Another 80 boxes are set to be completed by this Autumn, with the project expanding across all areas of Dublin. All styles and subject matters are welcome, but the council will favour designs which are sensitive to the box’s location; for example, Joanne Harold’s box [pictured] shows squirrels peeping from the undergrowth, an obvious allusion to the Botanic Gardens which are located just a few streets away in Glasnevin. Artists will be compensated for travel, food and materials to the tune of 200 euro, and will have their works promoted on the website and on social media.
If making art isn’t your thing, look up the helpful map on the Dublin Canvas website and head out for a walk; following the trail makes for a fun way to visit areas of the city you don’t usually frequent. We’ve documented some of our favourites here, but we’re pretty sure we pass other great ones every day without even noticing.
