Three Geneva residents were honored Dec. 2 by the City Council for their artistic contributions to the City’s inaugural “Art on Fire” hydrant design program.

Cecilia Holinger won first place for her “Courthouse Owls” design located at Third and Fulton streets. Meghan McKenna’s “Color Storm” (State and Third streets) and Lorraine Ochsner’s “Santa” (Fifth and Campbell streets) hydrants earned second and third place respectively.

Mayor Kevin Burns thanked all artists who participated in the program, which he initiated to have individuals “adopt” and paint fire hydrants this fall to display creative artwork throughout Geneva. All 41 painted hydrants were judged by the City’s Public Arts Advisory Committee and Cultural Arts Commission.

“‘The Art on Fire’ program has proven that the creative spirit is alive and well in Geneva,” Mayor Burns said. “This effort underscores the pride our citizens have in making what is already unique about our community even more so.”

“To garner this type of a response for a first-time program is fantastic,” Cultural Arts Commission Chairman Tim Vetang said. “I’ve seen people taking photos in front of the decorated hydrants, so they still are drawing a positive response from the community.”

People can take a virtual tour of all the decorated hydrants on an interactive map posted on the City’s website at the link below.

“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 application designs to make sure they did not compromise the visibility of the fire hydrants.

The City wants to thank the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and Public Arts Advisory Committee for their assistance with the program as well as Geneva Ace Hardware for being a presenting sponsor by donating half pint paint colors to participating artists.