Traffic signal boxes are everywhere. Grand Prairie wants to cover them with original art

Grand Prairie wants to transform those ubiquitous traffic signal boxes into canvases for original art.

The city is inviting Texas-based artists to compete for public commissions to create the pieces.

Artwork “will brighten city streetscapes, enhance community pride and create new, paid opportunities for Texas-based artists,” the city said on its website.

Up to 10 pieces will be selected. Submissions can be paintings or high-resolution digital images wrapped around the boxes.

Themes for artwork are:

• Environment, which can feature depictions of nature, lakes, animals, butterflies, prairies, wildflowers or other landscaping scenes.
• Hearts, including ideas of love, kindness, unity, openness, acceptance and friendship; and Grand Prairie being in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
• Purple Martins and Native Birds, as Grand Prairie is the official Purple Martins Conservation Capital of Texas.

Proposals can be playful, according to the rules, but cannot include images of people. The budget for each traffic signal box is $2,000.

The submission deadline is 5 p.m. April 28. More information is available here.