Muralists to display art on Harrow utility boxes
Harrow becomes latest community to take part in beautification project
It makes things more inviting to residents and visitors. It really engages and enriches the quality of life here in our community.
Bell Canada utility boxes in Harrow have been getting a makeover.
“It’s a chance to show local culture and history and heritage,” said Cynthia Cakebread, manager of recreation and culture for the Town of Essex.
“We asked for wineries, rural themes, barn quilts, the waterfront, grapes, plants — anything along those lines.” The boxes will showcase warm colours to brighten up the area and create a welcoming feel, Cakebread said.
“It makes things more inviting to residents and visitors,” she said.
“It really engages and enriches the quality of life here in our community.”
The Bell Box Murals Project provides eight selected muralists the opportunity to display their art publicly. Some of the artists will be coming from out of town.
“Though I have no direct connection with Harrow, I am familiar with the area as I have been an annual visitor to Point Pelee National Park and the Town of Leamington,” said artist Tak Bui, whose passion for public art drove him to participate.
Organizers are hoping the project will replace potential graffiti and vandalism with original works of art.
Each of the artists will take three to four days to complete their work. Once finished, Bell Canada will have the boxes clear-coated to protect them from the weather.
“Bell Canada plays a very big part of this,” Cakebread said. “They are allowing us to use their boxes and beautify them but they are also doing the cleaning and preparation of the boxes to ready them for the painting.”
The Bell Box Murals Project began in Toronto in 2009. Since then, more than 127 murals have been painted across Canada.
The initiative first began locally in 2013, when eight Bell boxes were painted and coated in Essex.
Once the eight in Harrow are completed, the municipality of Essex will have a total of 29 murals.