New Bedford Collaborates with UMassD CVPA Students on Innovative Electrical Box Designs
By Steven Froias
For New Bedford Creative
NEW BEDFORD, MA – In an ongoing effort to infuse art and creativity into everyday urban landscapes, New Bedford Creative’s Creative Consortium and the City of New Bedford have once again thought outside the box. Literally.
For the third year, the City and #NBCreative have commissioned UMass Dartmouth College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Assistant Teaching Professor Lara Henderson’s Foundations 120: 2D Form and Space class to collaborate on an inspiring public art initiative. This project transforms two ordinary electrical boxes each year into captivating pieces of urban artwork and is financially supported by the Dean’s office of UMassD CVPA.
Building upon the success of previous collaborations, Professor Henderson and her colleagues—Professors Ian Miller, Melissa Wilkinson, and Nick Carter—tasked students from the Foundations 120 course, a fundamental requirement for all CVPA majors, to conceptualize and present designs for two of the city’s electrical boxes in highly visible public spaces.
The selected designs, meticulously chosen by a panel of CVPA faculty and #NBCreative Creative Consortium members, offer unique perspectives and artistic approaches to enhance New Bedford’s urban landscape. New Bedford Creative has hosted 40-50 students on an AHA! Night each semester so they can do on-site research of the locations and experience the free cultural night’s festivities. This year, designs by Aiden Rapoza and Sonja Morin have been selected.
Rapoza’s utility box on Rte. 18 reads “You are not alone.” The artist writes that he hopes to “promote suicide awareness and spark hope. As suicide rates steadily climb, there is still a stigma against getting help and talking about suicide. Many people who struggle with suicidality won’t, can’t, or don’t seek help at all.” The design features the number 988, the mental health hotline.
Morin’s utility box near the New Bedford YMCA is a kaleidoscope of graphic design influenced by Keith Haring, Electra-Dye carpets, and stained glass windows. The result evokes historical elements of New Bedford, including its textile and maritime history.
Last year, visionary designs by Emily Moniz and Chloe Canterbury were selected. Moniz paid homage to New Bedford’s textile past in a riot of color. Meanwhile, Canterbury’s “Mood Box” on the New Bedford waterfront on Route 18 represents “the activism within this city and, in turn, the togetherness that brings,” states the artist.
The year before, designs by Ruby Louro and Caro Cuevas were chosen. Louro’s design is featured on Union Street outside Green Bean, while Cuevas’s utility box is on the waterfront at the corner of Walnut Street and JFK Memorial Highway near Fairfield Inn.
“The challenge of this project lies not only in the students’ creativity but also in their ability to adapt their designs to the specific surroundings of each box,” explained Professor Henderson.
This year marks the third iteration of this innovative collaboration. Margo Saulnier, Director of New Bedford Creative, remarked, “We consistently seek opportunities to strengthen the bonds between CVPA and our city, finding creative ways to uplift both entities. This project exemplifies that commitment.”
During the past year New Bedford Creative strengthened its partnership with CVPA to ensure that students gain insight into the rich legacy of New Bedford-based artists and experience this vibrant creative community firsthand. The utility box paint project is just one of several initiatives bringing students to the city, generating excitement about our urban seaport.
Work on the transformative utility electrical boxes is already underway, with completion projected for September. As these once-ordinary structures are imbued with the students’ artistic flair, New Bedford’s streets will once again be further enriched by these inspiring symbols of creativity and collaboration.