By fall, people may start to see murals painted on the crosswalks along Genesee Street in downtown Waukegan at the corners of Genesee and Clayton streets, Genesee and Water streets and a few other intersections.
Rachel Cantin, an assistant planner with the city, said $400,000 of a $1.5 million Energy Transition Community Grant from the state of Illinois will be used to hire artists to paint murals in the crosswalks.
“We really want to beautify our downtown,” she said. “We want more energy downtown. The murals will be traffic-calming and pedestrian-friendly. We want to make space for people instead of cars.”
Artists who want the opportunity to paint the murals must submit a request for proposal (RFP) to the city by July 29 on the its website to receive consideration to enhance the appearance of downtown Waukegan.
Though the bulk of the grant will fund the city’s multi-year lead pipe replacement project, Cantin said it is important to use a portion for public art and the pedestrian streetscape. She anticipates the money can pay for five full crosswalks of four murals each.
With no limit on the number of proposals an artist can make, Cantin said they could seek to do one mural on a single crosswalk, or one for each of the four that compose an intersection.
Though subject to change, she said murals will be at the corners of Clayton and Genesee, Madison and Genesee, Water and Genesee, and Lake Street and Genesee. The intersection of Washington and Genesee streets was intentionally excluded.
“There’s too much traffic,” Cantin said. “There is a lot of bus traffic. We want to focus on where people will see them.”
Other locations will be considered, but they will all be in the downtown area. Cantin said it is bounded by Grand Avenue to the north, Sheridan Road to the east, Lake to the South and West Street to the west.
Murals on the walls of buildings are not under consideration with this grant program. Cantin said public art on buildings must be done in collaboration with the property owner. The city owns the crosswalks and can make all related decisions itself.
With a mural recently painted on the south wall of the JIC Community Development Corporation, she said doing some in conjunction with the not-for-profit organizations in the downtown area is a possibility.
David Motley, the city’s director of public relations, said with organizations like the College of Lake County, Waukegan Township, the Waukegan Public Library — where a mural is currently being painted near the entrance — several theaters and more, there are a variety of possibilities.
“We’re open working with our community partners, or people in the business community,” Motley said. “If they have ideas, we encourage them to talk to us about murals.”
Starting at $3,000 for one mural, Cantin said compensation can climb to as much as $7,800 depending on the number of murals an artist wants to create. Pay can go to $4000 for two murals, $6,200 for three and $7,800 for four.
Should an artist choose to bid on more than one location, they must submit a separate proposal for each intersection, according to the RFP. The applicant is encouraged to have a community paint day as part of the application.
Lead participating artists must be 18 with public art design and installation experience, according to the RFP. Participants from the Waukegan and the Lake County area will receive preferential consideration. Selection is expected to be done by Aug. 1.
