The City of Richardson and the Richardson Kiwanis Club will host an art contest to select five original, wildflower-themed designs that will be featured as vinyl wraps on traffic signal boxes at intersections throughout the community. The contest is open to individual artists residing in the city or students attending a school located within Richardson. In addition to beautifying and colorfully enhancing city streetscapes, the artwork will also showcase local Richardson artists in a new way and further a sense of community pride.

“Art installations are a meaningful part of our city’s identity, and the designs selected from our traffic signal box art contest will share visually engaging artwork created by Richardson artists that honor our community and welcome visitors,” said Assistant City Manager Shanna Sims-Bradish. “Our wildflowers contest theme provides a significant connection to the upcoming spring season and Richardson’s well-known, vibrant floral displays in parks and medians each year. The City is excited to share this opportunity that will recognize and showcase our local artists in a new and special way.”

Traffic signal boxes were designated as the installation locations due to their potential for featuring wrapped art on a large scale and for their high visibility to both drivers and pedestrians. Designs chosen for the traffic signal boxes will be showcased at key intersection throughout the city, including Renner Road and Routh Creek Parkway at the Spring Creek Nature Area, Yale Road and Apollo Road at Duck Creek Trail, Belt Line Road and Mimosa Drive at Richardson High School, Waterview Drive and Franklyn Jennifer Drive on the University of Texas at Dallas campus, and at Renner Road and Telecom Parkway.

A selection committee will review the submissions and select contest finalists. The five winners will be determined according to three main criteria – creativity, adherence to the wildflowers theme and artistic merit – and each selected artist will also receive a $100 stipend, a plaque and be recognized for their efforts in the City’s communications materials. 

Participating artists may submit one original digital design aligned to the wildflowers theme that can be easily converted to a digitally printed wrap that covers the entire traffic signal box. All designs must be:

  • Original artwork and cannot include copyrighted or trademarked images, commercial logos or advertisements;
  • Designs should be free from any representation that includes traffic lights, signs or signal images of any kind;
  • Artists may sign their designs but should limit any other wording; and
  • All submissions should feature a design appropriate for viewing by all ages.

All completed applications and artwork submissions are due by Monday, Feb. 28 no later than 5 p.m. Information about the contest is available at www.cor.net/boxartcontest.

Any questions about entry requirements may also be directed to Sims-Bradish by phone at 972-744-4210 or by e-mail to shanna.sims@cor.gov.