Students from the Memphis College of Art are in the process of transforming ugly green utility boxes on Main Street Pedestrian Mall into works of public art.
Five MCA students and artists are volunteering their time and talent to help make our city a more vibrant, creative place as a part of MCA’s “Give Back” program.
Artist Carl Moore, Lauren Lane, Brittany Vega, Justin Bowles and Zahra Nazari developed concepts for each box, ranging from a Tennessee emblem theme to a Number 2 pencil. Students experienced the process to install public art by presenting their ideas to the Design Review Board and Landmarks Commission for approval. The boxes are expected to be complete next week, with two more box transformations expected to start next month.
MCA was approached by the Downtown Memphis Commission, which is coordinating this project, to bring more color and imagination to the Main Street Pedestrian Mall, the most walked thoroughfare in the city.
“Several stakeholders have asked what could be done to make those 6-foot electrical boxes more attractive, but it was Jason Wexler, the president of Henry Turley Company, who came up with the idea to turn them into works of art,” said Leslie Gower, vice president of the Downtown Memphis Commission. “We just ran with his idea.”
Information provided by the Downtown Memphis Commission.
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