Traffic Signal Box Public Art

2025/2026 Call for Artists has closed, thank you for your interest!

Project Overview

The City of Cedar Hill invites artists to compete for a public art commission to create art on Traffic Signal Boxes (TSBs) located throughout the city. This project will brighten city streetscapes, enhance community pride and create new, paid opportunities for Texas-based artists. The winning artwork will be applied to the TSBs with digitally printed wraps. The City anticipates selecting a minimum of three winning artists for this project year.

The theme this year is "Connecting Community with Nature/ Sharing Space with Nature."

The deadline for submitting a concept for consideration is 5 p.m. on December 30, 2025. The anticipated timeline is:

December 30, 2025 - Deadline to submit concepts
January 2026 - Winning artists selected
March 2026 - Artists finalize design
April - June 2026 - Installation

Proposals can be playful but must not include images of people. All artwork must be the original work of the artists.

Art should cover all exposed sides and top of the TSB. The undersides of the TSB do not need to be painted.

Click here to submit your design concept!

If you wish to submit more than one design concept, please submit one application for each design.

You can find a typical TSB layout template here to help in your design process. Please note, individual TSBs may have varying dimensions and different features than on the provided layout.

Locations

City staff will assign the selected artworks to specific TSB locations throughout the city.

Artist's Award

The total possible award for each winning concept is $1,250. Each winning artist must sign an Artist Contract and complete required vendor paperwork before receiving award. An additional $2,100 is budgeted for contractors to install the artwork.

$250 Preliminary concept award for winning design.

To be eligible to receive the $250 award, the artist must sign a contract committing to finalize the concept based on the assigned TSB and to agree to work with the City’s Environmental Manager and wrapping vendor to finalize the concept and submit the required files for the vendor to print.

$1,000 Final design based on the assigned box size, includes:

Working with the Environmental Manager and wrapping vendor for image sizing and approval of final design.
Final files in approved high-resolution format (format depends on whether it’s a photograph or graphic design),

$2,100 Paid to others (City contractor) for wrapping services, including:

Working with the artist for sizing and final format 4-color process digital printing of the design on vinyl wrap.
1. Cleaning TSB
2. Wrapping TSB
3. Heat sealing wrapping
4. UV laminating clear coat wrap

Design & Submission Criteria

File submission: For Photographs: Send minimum of 300 DPI files. For Graphic Designs: Send vector files
Design must include all visible sides of the TSB including the tops of the TSB. The bottoms of the TSB are not visible.
TSBs contain electrical equipment that can get hot; thus, it’s recommended that the bulk of the designs be primarily based on lighter colors to prevent overheating of the TSB.
Designs must not contain representations of traffic lights, signs, or signals.
The design may include text; however, TSBs may not be used for advertisement or to promote a business, product, or viewpoint.
Avoid fine detail or text of such a small size that it may cause drivers to lose concentration as they try to read it.
Designs may not include any breach of intellectual property, trademarks, brands, images of illegal activities or involve the attachment of any object(s).
Design must not include representations of people.
All artwork must be the artist’s own original work and must not have appeared on TSBs elsewhere.
The finished artwork will be in the public domain and therefore may be subject to vandalism. Accordingly, artists should be thoughtful about having large open areas in the design.
Avoid using each face of the TSB for a different image or concept.
Successful designs will “wrap” the imagery around all faces of the box in a continuous flow.
Bold forms and vibrant colors that can be easily viewed by motorists stopped at the traffic signal, as well as by passing pedestrians, are encouraged.
Artists are invited to sign their boxes and include their website and/or a hashtag. Signatures, a website and/or a hashtag cannot occupy more than 1/8^th of the area of the side of the TSB on which they are placed. Design proposals should indicate where the signature, website, and/or hashtag will be located.

Selection Process

All proposals will be screened for the completeness of the submittal packets and appropriateness of the entries. Finalists for the competition will be selected by the Beautification and Environmental Sustainability Board based on the review of artworks, how well the artists captured the vision for the category they selected, experience/qualifications, and artistic merit. The City of Cedar Hill City Council has the final approval on the winning TSB designs.