Kawartha Lakes is endeavouring to foster a sense of civic pride and enhance the community at the same time with its 2024 instalment of “That’s a Wrap.”
That’s a Wrap is a temporary public art initiative that wraps selected traffic control boxes (TCB) along the Kawartha Lakes road network with artist-created imagery. The intent is to “enliven the landscape, reduce graffiti, and visually connect the communities of Kawartha Lakes for area residents and cottagers,” the municipality said.
Donna Goodwin, Kawartha Lakes’ economic development officer, arts and culture, told kawarthaNOW about how the initiative came to life.
“I brought forward the idea to work with our public works department and the Kawartha Arts Network in creating an outdoor art gallery,” Goodwin said. “Some positive outcomes I had in mind were to boost community pride and belonging amongst our residents and beautify both urban and rural intersections.”
The project also deters tagging and other types of vandalism on TCBs, she noted.
“Using local artwork has been a great way to showcase the amazing talent we have here in our community in a really accessible and interesting way. This year’s goal is to celebrate 10 new artistic works, so that all remaining municipally owned boxes are wrapped.”
The theme for the 2024 edition celebrates Kawartha Lakes’ rural and agricultural setting and also acknowledges the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo occurring in Lindsay October 1 to 5.
Visual artists and graphic designers in Kawartha Lakes are invited to participate by submitting digitally created artwork or scans of original artwork through Kawartha Lakes’ online form.
Submissions can represent a range of activities from hanging clothes on a clothesline to horses out to pasture. They could portray sitting around a campfire, swaying stands of corn or flowers down a country lane, the municipality noted.
Ten works of art are required to wrap 10 municipal TCBs. Kawartha Lakes is also seeking another three art pieces to place in the 2025 municipal calendar, including the front cover.
Along with exposure and name recognition, the artists chosen for the That’s a Wrap TCB art program will be rewarded with a $200 honorarium for their work. The honorarium will be awarded to the artists chosen for the That’s a Wrap TCB designs only. Artists chosen for the calendar only will not receive an honorarium.
Only original works of art, created by contemporary artists will be considered, Kawartha Lakes noted. Artists chosen for the inaugural 2022 program and the 2023 TCB call are not eligible to apply.
Below are the requirements to participate in the 2024 program.
- The artist must be at least 16 years old and a resident of the City of Kawartha Lakes
- The subject matter must include rural or agricultural activities, locations, symbols; artwork for any of the themed activities will be accepted
- Artists must include a short bio and the name of the community within the City of Kawartha Lakes in which the artwork was created
- Orientation for the artwork on the TCBs is portrait/rectangular
- For judging purposes, submissions must include a high-quality digital photo/image.
Each box will be wrapped with artwork and include the Kawartha Lakes’ “Jump In” logo, the artist’s name, and a QR code.
By submitting an application, artists grant consent for their artwork to be cropped as needed to fit the necessary dimensions for the calendar.
The deadline for submissions is Thursday, June 20.
Artists will receive correspondence in July and the successful applicants will be announced in August/September. Installation will also begin in August/September.
For more information and/or to submit artwork, visit forms.kawarthalakes.ca/Economic-Development/Thats-a-Wrap-2024-Public-Art-Program.
