Hey there talented Brooklyn artist wondering how you can get your name and work out there so that people finally understand how talented you are. It’s definitely tough out there, but don’t give up just yet, because here’s a fun opportunity: the Department of Transportation is looking for artists to paint some bright and pretty pictures onto our otherwise dull and crappy traffic barriers.
While we suppose you could just go and paint a traffic barrier yourself with a few spraypaint cans, we should note this is highly illegal and also the city is going to pay for all your materials if they pick your design. If you’re one of the artitsts chosen to make the traffic barriers a bit more spiffy, you get a $2500 honorium to go towards the production of your design and a $500 stipend for tools to help you get your design up on a barrier. Plus, think of all the people who’ll bike and run by your picture and think, “Thank you, pretty traffic barrier, for putting concrete between terrible drivers and myself.”
The nitty gritty is as follows: you’ll be painting something that’s 20 feet long by three feet tall, and the Department of Transportation will be handing out sites, so you don’t get to pick. You can find a form for the Barrier Beautification program that you need to fill out here, where you’ll give the DOT your aritst bio, design description both in words and as a sketch and three examples of your past work. You’ll need to mail that and a hardcopy of your work on a CD-ROM or USB drive by August 21 to:
Courtney Whitelocke, DOT Art Project Manager
NYC Department of Transportation
Design, Art & Wayfinding Unit
55 Water Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10041
Good luck, and we’ll keep an eye out for your great work.