Description of the Capitol Box Art Project, a project to support Sacramento artists and transform ugly traffic utility boxes into “temporary” public works of art.
Background
It was in 2013 when the Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) first launched the Capitol Box Art Project. The artwork of 23 Sacramento artists was installed the next year. The 2014 artists are now called “legacy artists”.
Select traffic utility boxes were wrapped in a durable vinyl wrap with each artist’s design, transforming the boxes into works of art! I recall at that time thinking it was a great way to beautify our streets, and admiring the artwork when I came across one of the wrapped boxes.
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
Capitol Box Art Project Revival
CADA was joined by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership in 2020 to revive the Capitol Art Box Project. In the summer and fall of 2021, the artwork of over 50 artists was installed.
The revival project was administered by the Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture.
Capitol Box Art Walk
A friend and I met midweek to stroll around the downtown/midtown area. It was a chilly day and both of us had dressed warmly. Our plan was to catch up while checking out some of the newly installed artwork.
The Capitol Box Art Project has an excellent website that provides both utility box locations and information on each artist. Utilizing the website, I put together a list of the utility box locations that were “wrapped” in 2021. I sorted the list by street letter, but one could also utilize numbered streets. After consulting the list we chose to walk along parts of K, L, and J Streets.
We were unable to find each of the listed utility boxes, and in some instances we passed boxes that had not been wrapped. I had tucked the list in my pocket – so it is entirely possible that they were not on the list to start with.
As one might expect, we liked some of the artwork more than others. In some instances, the artwork flowed around each of the four sides of the utility box. On others, each side was in itself a separate (but complementary and color coordinated) artwork. We also noticed during our stroll a few utility boxes that had been wrapped during the original Capitol Box Art Project in 2014.
To Sum Up
While we enjoyed our stroll and checking out some of newly wrapped utility boxes, I was distressed to see that some of the artwork had already been vandalized. I wish I had the answer to the question – “What is wrong with people?” I seem to be asking myself that more and more lately.
More Public Art
Interested in reading about some of the other public art installations in Sacramento? See related blog posts: California Cathedral and Indo Arch and Coloring Book #4 and Missing the Mark and Multitudes Converge and Sonic Passages and Leap and Time to Cast Away Stones and La Feuille and Escape
Also see related blog post: Favorite Blog Posts
Comments?
Have you noticed any of the recent additions to the Capitol Box Art Project? Did any in particular catch your eye?
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