Are you a teen artist in Naperville? The city wants to hear from you.
Naperville’s Community Services Department is putting out a call for local students to submit artwork to be showcased on streetlight controller boxes near Naperville North and Naperville Central high schools.
The city’s request, announced Thursday through a memorandum from Naperville City Clerk Dawn Portner, calls for entries from Naperville high school students aged 13-18 years old. All types of artwork — painting, graphic design, mixed media, drawing — can be submitted, the city says. Political or profane submissions won’t be considered.
Six entries will be selected, according to Portner. Submissions will be accepted through April 30. Final selections will take place in mid-May and artists will be notified by May 20. Artwork will be installed by the end of June, she said.
“I hope we get so many that we don’t know what to do with them,” Portner said.
The venture is a continuation of a project that the city started a couple years ago, Portner said. In 2023, the city worked with Neuqua Valley High School to wrap streetlight controller boxes along 95th Street with student artwork.
“We had such a great time and good success on that program that we wanted to do the same thing in north Naperville and hopefully include Naperville North High School and Naperville Central,” Portner said.
Funding for the project comes from the Community Services Department as part of the city’s general budget. The city will cover the cost of printing and installation.
“We have so much talent in this city when it comes to students and with student art,” Portner said, “that we just wanted to be able to put that art on display and show everybody how talented our artists are. … I’m looking forward to seeing the designs. I’ve been told by some teachers that the students are working on them, and they’re pretty excited.”
Teen artists interested in submitting artwork can email entries — including their name, age, school and contact information — to Portner at portnerd@naperville.il.us. Controller boxes are 50 inches tall, 30 inches wide and 16.5 inches deep. Designs should work across all four sides of the box.
