Butte Stormwater Art Project
About the Project
Butte has 30+ traffic signal boxes to wrap!
The Clark Fork Watershed Education Program (CFWEP) and Butte-Silver Bow have teamed up to increase stormwater awareness in our community by placing public art on traffic signal boxes throughout Butte. Community members often don’t realize that all of Butte’s stormwater is untreated and eventually makes its way into either Blacktail or Silver Bow Creek. Unfortunately, this means trash, oil, and other materials make their way into these important bodies of water threatening the health of our precious water resources.
The goal of this effort is to increase awareness of storm drain connections to our creeks while adding vibrancy to our community through public art installations. There are 30 signal boxes eligible for wrapping in the Uptown and Harrison Avenue districts. Signal boxes will be wrapped with original works of art, and the art selected for the signal box wraps will have ecological, aquatic, or riparian connectedness theme. We envision the art on the signal boxes honoring the unique ecology and beauty of the summit valley, our water resources, and the outdoor areas we all know and love.
Signal Box Map
Sponsor A Signal Box
Your Sponsorship:
- Covers the cost of wrap materials; and
- Contributes to the artist stipend ($100), with a full match from CFWEP).
Full Sponsorship Level: $1000.00
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Business name and logo featured alone on the signal box sponsor plaque (wraps last an average of 10 years)
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Sponsor’s business name and logo, along with a paragraph mentioning the donation, will be added to the project’s website
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Featured on CFWEP social media accounts (as each wrap is revealed)
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Included in print ad in the Montana Standard
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Featured in publications related to stormwater education
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PLUS: Serve as an Art Selection Committee member
Half Sponsorship Level: $500.00
- Business name and logo featured with one other business on the signal box sponsor plaque (wraps last an average of 10 years)
- Sponsor’s business name and logo, along with a paragraph mentioning the donation, will be added to the project’s website
- Featured on CFWEP social media accounts (as each wrap is revealed)
- Included in print ad in the Montana Standard
- Featured in publications related to stormwater education
Submit Art
Artists will receive:
- $200 stipend;
- Name featured on the signal box sponsor plaque;
- Recognition on CFWEP social media accounts; and
- Feature on the Stormwater Education Program website.
Art Theme
Artwork and/or photographs should have a specific ecological, aquatic, or riparian connectedness theme. A few examples of this include artwork that:
- Conveys the literal messages of “only rain in the drain” or “water drains to creek;”
- Shows the connection between our storm drains and Silver Bow and Blacktail Creeks;
- Contains ecological or riparian elements such as native trout, wildlife, aquatic macroinvertebrates, native plants, and water;
- Conveys the history and significance of our waterways.
Art Medium
Art will be converted to a digital medium and will be printed on a weather and fade resistant wrap. Art can be created digitally using tools such as Adobe Illustrator or it can be created using physical materials. We will be using a large scanner to transfer physical art work to a digital medium.
Regulations
The Department of Transportation does not allow artwork that faces the street to contain words or other loud elements to ensure traffic safety. You may include these elements on the sidewalk side of the artwork. Logos are not permitted anywhere on the artwork. Art that fits signal boxes best are landscape orientation. Correct proportions are illustrated in Figure 1.
Art may need to be cropped to fit signal box. Artist does not determine signal box location of artwork.
Art Selection
Art will be selected by a committee of sponsors, community members, and the CFWEP team.
Sponsor Application
Artist Application
Mike Beckworth – 2023 Winner