08 November, 2022 5 comments Leave a comment

I had to keep this piece of happy news secret for several months, but now that the City of Kawartha Lakes has announced the official winners of this year's That's a Wrap Art Competition, I can share the story.

It began last June with a Call for Entry from the City regarding a temporary (3-year) public art initiative to wrap select traffic control boxes along the Kawartha Lakes road network with artist-created imagery.

The theme of the competition was Nature & Outdoors, and applicants had to be residents of Kawartha Lakes.

This project was a partnership between the City and Kawartha Arts Network, intended to enliven the urban landscape, help reduce graffiti, and visually connect the communities of Kawartha Lakes for area residents and visitors.

As an extension of the program, chosen artwork also is featured in the 2023 Municipal Calendar.

I submitted eight of my painted images in July and was delighted to learn in August that my painting 'Nightfall', was one of nine images chosen for installation this fall.

Everyone was asked to keep quiet about winning the competition until the City could make a formal announcement after the wraps were installed.

The City worked with Auto Trim & Signs in Lindsay to design and create vinyl wraps to fit the control boxes, based on the artists' digital images of their paintings, and installation was completed by early November.

My artwork image 'Nightfall' was installed on a traffic control box in front of the Bobcaygeon Municipal Service Centre, at the corner of County Rd. 36 and King St.

WOW it looks amazing, far surpassing my expectations! Auto Trim & Signs did a wonderful job of the wrap design and installation.

Here is a list of the location and artist for each art wrap image in the 2022 program:

Bobcaygeon (2):
Canal St and Bolton- Karen Szostak
Highway 36 and King St- Karen Richardson

Fenelon Falls (2):
Victoria st and Lindsay- Lindsay Edmam
Lindsay st and Colborne - Donna Bisschop

Lindsay (5):
Mary St and Lindsay- Wren Kellar
Victoria St and Colborne- Joy Mccallister
Kent St and Albert- Christine Woods
Mary St and Angeline- Megan Lowry-Smith
Kent St and St Joseph’s- Rhonda Larson

To view all the art images chosen for That's a Wrap, and see a map of their locations, visit That's a Wrap - City of Kawartha Lakes.

I am grateful to the City of Kawartha Lakes and Kawartha Arts Network for the opportunity to participate in phase one of this wonderful public art project. Next year, the City plans to run another competition and wrap more traffic control boxes in Kawartha Lakes.

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter if you wish to see more life-of-the-artist stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions. 

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