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Butte Stormwater Art Project

Butte Stormwater Art Project

Butte Stormwater Art Project

2023 Stormwater Art Contest

CFWEP is currently accepting submissions from local artists to be installed on signal boxes around Butte!

 

How to Enter:

  • Create your art piece! We are looking for works with an ecological, aquatic, or riparian connectedness theme, but the medium is up to you.
  • Email a picture of your art to Melissa Wanamaker at mwanamaker@mtech.edu. This is your official entry! Submissions are due by May 22 at 5pm.
  • If your artwork is chosen, CFWEP will work with you to get a high quality scan or format of your piece. Note that artwork may be cropped to fit on signal boxes.

Have more questions? Check out our Artist Info section for more details.

Get Involved!

Select whether you are an artist or a sponsor below.

Artist Info →

Selected Artists Recieve:

  • $200 Stipend for Artwork
  • Name featured on the signal box plaque
  • Recognition on CFWEP Social Media Accounts
  • Feature on the bsbstormwater.org website

Art Submission Requirements:

Art Theme

Artwork and 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 artwork to a digital medium.

DOT 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. Correct proportions are illustrated in Figure 1.

Art Selection

Art will be selected by sponsors and CFWEP. Landscape orientation works well. Art may have to be cropped to fit the signal box.

 

Sponsor Info →

Select a Level of Sponsorship

Full Sponsorship: $1000

  • Business name and logo featured alone 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 cfwep.org and bsbstormwater.org websites
  • Featured on CFWEP social media accounts
  • Featured in publications related to stormwater education
  • PLUS: Selection of Artwork for your Signal Box (with CFWEP’s approval of artwork)

Half Sponsorship: $500

  • 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 cfwep.org and bsbstormwater.org websites
  • Featured on CFWEP social media accounts
  • Featured in publications related to stormwater education

How to Sponsor

Contact Melissa at mwanamaker@mtech.edu if you are interested in sponsoring a signal box.

About the Project

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 32 signal boxes still 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.