SPOKANE, Wash. -- The City of Spokane has partnered with Spokane Arts to fight graffiti downtown.
"It's important to us as a city to have a good presentation and make our city look beautiful and clean and artistic creative," said Laura Becker, the Executive Director of Spokane Arts.
The Spokane Signal Box Artwork Project aims to beautify the city and prevent graffiti at the same time.
The project targeted the metal boxes near stop lights on 2nd Avenue between Division and Maple. City officials said they have gotten the most complaints about this area, as a large number of these boxes had been covered in spray paint.
To hide old graffiti and prevent it in the future, the group covered 13 boxes with vinyl wraps. The material was designed with anti-graffiti coding, which allows paint to be wiped right off.
As for the designs, organizers recruited local art students and emerging artists to submit ideas.
Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU) sponsored most of the boxes, meaning the project cost the city nothing.
Project leaders said the idea was inspired by similar programs in Coeur d'Alene and Seattle.
Organizers said the program is in a pilot stage, but they do hope to expand across Spokane in the future.
