Artists will take to the streets this month putting their creative mark on Geneva fire hydrants as part of the City’s “Art on Fire” program.

“Art on Fire” was initiated by the City with assistance from its Cultural Arts Commission to have individuals “adopt” and paint fire hydrants to display creative artwork throughout Geneva. The program, which was inspired by Mayor Kevin Burns, drew a positive community response in its inaugural effort with 52 entries being submitted to the City last month.

“I’m thrilled with the response received by our citizen artists and look forward to enjoying their unique and creative imagination adorning the City’s fire hydrants,” Mayor Burns said. “The program was designed to ignite the artist in all of us, and I could not be more proud of its success.”

Geneva Ace Hardware is a presenting sponsor of the “Art on Fire” program and is donating half pint paint colors to participating artists. Donated colors include lemon drop, regal red, hunter green, harbor blue, gloss white, gloss black and medium gray. Artists must present a letter from the City to redeem their free pints of paint. All other colors unique to the individual design will need to be paid by the artists.

“Art on Fire” did not mandate a specific theme, but the program encouraged artists to incorporate the character of the hydrant’s surrounding environment into their design. City staff reviewed and approved all the application designs to make sure they did not compromise the visibility of the fire hydrants.

During the next few weeks, artists will be painting their designs on select hydrants in Geneva. The City’s Public Arts Advisory Committee will judge the completed hydrants and announce first, second and third-place finishers in October.

The City plans on posting photos of all the “Art on Fire” hydrant designs along with a map later this fall on the City’s website.