Building on the success of nine years of beautifying traffic utility box projects, the Shaker Arts

Council (SHAC), volunteer nonprofit with a mission to enrich the cultural fabric of Shaker Heights with art, is once again launching its public art project, Painting the Town.

Since 2016, SHAC has worked with local artists to enliven the utility boxes that line the Shaker Heights city streets with Painting the Town—a juried art competition for the design of Shaker Heights utility boxes along SHAC’s Green Line and Blue Line Public Art in Shaker Tour.

The public art project has been a popular attraction in the city, with both Shaker High School seniors and professional artists who live or work in Shaker Heights contributing utility box designs each year.

Today, there are nearly five dozen decorated utility boxes and public art projects along or near the Rapid lines in Shaker Heights.

Entrants for the 2025 Painting the Town project must be artists 21 years or older who live or work in Shaker Heights, are residents of the Shaker Heights School District, or SHAC members.

 Designs and applications must be submitted by Friday, March 22 at 5 p.m. Visit the SHAC page for more information and to download the application and template.

SHAC’s Painting the Town is supported in part through a grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which has awarded $70,814 to SHAC since 2009. Painting the Town is also supported in part by the Flagstar Foundation.