Uptown Butte Receives Two Public Art Installations through Stormwater Art Project

The Clark Fork Watershed Education Program (CFWEP) has teamed up with Butte-Silver Bow to increase stormwater awareness in the Butte Community by placing public art on two traffic signal boxes in Uptown Butte. The two signal boxes were wrapped on Wednesday, September 27, 2017, as part of CFWEP’s Stormwater Art Project.

The first installation of art is located on the signal box at the corner of Mercury Street and Main Street and was sponsored by Headframe Spirits. It features a photograph taken by Dr. Robert Pal, an assistant professor of Biology and the director of Restoration at Montana Tech. The second installation of art is located on the signal box at the corner of Montana Street and Mercury Street and was sponsored by 5518 designs. It features artwork from 5518 Designs owner Jon Wick. The artwork on these signal boxes was installed by Tillo Graphics, who donated their labor to the project.

Another signal box at the corner of Harrison and Amherst is slated to be wrapped in the coming weeks, thanks to a sponsorship from the StoneFly Fly Shop. The featured artist is Clayton Heggem, a student at Butte High.

CFWEP’s Stormwater Art Project hopes to increase public awareness of stormwater drainage around Butte through public art installations on signal boxes throughout town. “Many of the signal boxes in Butte are located next to storm drains,” said CFWEP director, Rayelynn Brandl. “Butte community members often don’t realize that Butte’s stormwater is untreated and eventually makes its way into Blacktail or Silver Bow Creek,” said Brandl. “The wraps feature art that we hope will remind Butte citizens of connections between our storm drains and our creeks.”

The vinyl wraps on the signal boxes last an average of 10 years. “We are looking for additional sponsors for the remaining 30 signal boxes around Butte,” said Kayla Lappin of CFWEP. Sponsorships can be made at two levels, a $300 level, and a $600 level. All sponsors will be featured on the signal boxes themselves, on CFWEP's Facebook page, in CFWEP's publications, and on CFWEP's website. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please visit www.cfwep.org/stormwaterart or contact Kayla Lappin at klappin@mtech.edu or 406-221-6198.

The very first signal box art installation was sponsored by CFWEP and was completed in 2016 at the corner of Montana Street and Park Street.

A call to artists was made in June of 2017 and the project received 11 submissions. Selected artists are eligible to receive a $200 stipend for their art. The call for art is ongoing, and community members are encouraged to submit their art at any time. Art submitted to the project must relay a message of connectedness to our waterways and can have an ecological, aquatic, or riparian focus. CFWEP envisions art honoring the unique ecology and beauty of the Summit Valley, our water resources, and the outdoor areas we all know and love. All ages are welcome to submit art to the project. For a complete application please visit www.cfwep.org/stormwaterart or contact Kayla Lappin at klappin@mtech.edu or 406-221-6198.