For the second year, Lafayette Consolidated Government’s (LCG) Environmental Quality (EQ) Division has partnered to create a Storm Drain Art contest as a way to educate the public on the issue of storm drain pollutants while also creating unique public art. EQ is asking artists to submit applications and designs representative of one of Lafayette’s greatest natural resources, the Vermilion River.
As part of EQ’s water quality improvement efforts, the project is a way to remind the community of the drains’ final destination, raise awareness about the importance of keeping streets clean and brighten up a few of Lafayette’s high-pedestrian trafficked drains. Four drains will be painted for the second annual contest and the call for artists is open now through December 15, 2018. Artists are asked to submit their eco-themed design for one of the following locations: Freetown-Port Rico Neighborhood, Cajun Field, LaPlace Neighborhood and the Vermilion Street Garage. The final artists’ designs are intended to raise awareness that pollutants on land can affect the water quality of the Vermilion since storm drains are “where the river meets the road.” Applications, project guidelines, and locations of the preselected storm drains can be found at LafayetteLA.gov or picked up at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. Project installation will be spring 2019.
During the 2018 pilot project, five designs were selected and painted at high-pedestrian locations in the Oil Center, at Pontiac Point, on campus at the University of Louisiana, in Downtown Lafayette and at the Public Works building. See the original five projects from design to completion athttp://www.lafayettela.gov/EQ/SiteAssets/files/2017-2018-Locations-and-Installations.pdf.
For more information contact Jackie at 337-291-8547, visit LafayetteLA.gov or email EnvironmentalQuality@LafayetteLA.gov.
