Geneva residents will once again have an opportunity to share their artistic creativity with the community through the City’s “Art on Fire” hydrant design program, which will feature a new wrinkle this year.
The City, in collaboration with the Cultural Arts Commission, is seeking artists to adopt and paint fire hydrants throughout Geneva. More than 100 hydrants have been painted as part of “Art on Fire,” which was established by Mayor Kevin Burns in 2013.
The program is free and open to the public, but participants need to submit an application to the City by Thursday, June 30. The application can be found on the City’s website. “Art on Fire” does not mandate a specific theme.
New this year, the City’s International Cultural Exchange Committee (ICEC) is offering a special award category for Geneva middle school students who (voluntarily) paint their hydrants from the following themes:
- Geneva’s partner city, Croissy-sur-Seine (a suburb of Paris, France)
- International friendship
City staff reviews and approves all application designs to make sure they do not compromise the visibility of the hydrants for firefighters in an emergency. Artists will be allowed to paint their hydrants through Monday, Aug. 15.
The City’s Public Art Advisory Committee, Cultural Arts Commission, International Cultural Exchange Committee, and our friends from Croissy-sur-Seine will judge the hydrants. Prizes will be awarded to the overall program winners as well as the new ICEC category this fall.
People can take a virtual tour of all the decorated hydrants on an interactive map posted on the City’s website. The map will be updated this fall to include all the 2022 submissions.
For more information, contact Cultural Arts Commission staff liaison Cate Tracy at 630-938-4555 or send her an email.