Art on Traffic Signal Boxes - Artforce Brisbane

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If you have ever been sitting in Brisbane traffic or just waiting for the lights to change, chances are you have seen some artwork painted on a traffic signal box. Who are the artists? You can just read on to find out more.



Metal traffic signal boxes are an important part of road traffic management and are located at traffic light intersections across Brisbane. These boxes house traffic light electronics, and there are over 1,000 boxes across Brisbane.

For the past several decades, the normally plain-coloured exterior of these boxes has provided the perfect canvas for locals to create and share their pieces of public art for passersby to enjoy.



What began as an anti-graffiti initiative in 1999 has led to the formation of public galleries on Brisbane's city streets. Council reports that they spend some $3 million per year to remove illegal graffiti in public spaces and realized there had to be another way to promote and nurture public art safely and responsibly.

And so began the project called Artforce - a public art initiative where members of the community can paint a traffic signal box with their own unique, original design.



If you look carefully you may find that many of the designs on the boxes reflect the unique qualities of a suburb such as a building, a part of nature, or the area's community spirit. A small number of Energex Pad-mount Transformers are also allocated for painting.

Here are some of the boxes I found across Brisbane.



Unknown
Artist: Unknown
Location: cnr Samford Road and Taylors Road, Gaythorne
Description: The painting depicts the iconic street crossing of the famous Fab 4, The Beatles , at the Abbey Road Studios . Included are references to yellow submarines from the song of the same name.




Geopets
Artist: Alana Glass
Location: Enoggera Road and Ashgrove Avenue. Newmarket**
Description: The painting highlights the importance of pets in our lives particularly as experienced during the Covid pandemic.



Green Library
Artist: Emma Crameri
Location: Osborne Rd and Sussex Street, Mitchelton QLD
Description: This traffic box celebrates the artist, Emma Crameri's love of reading, learning, libraries, and nature.



The giving doesn't stop once the painting is finished. There are even annual Awards for the best artworks in the following categories:


If you would like to responsibly make a visual history of Brisbane, no formal qualifications are required but budding "artists" need to:



Spotting the painted box can be a fun way to keep the kids occupied on a car ride. And for the adults, well they are just a nice way to see the beautification of our City Be sure to check out the drive-through gallery for yourself the next time you are going on a drive, waiting at a set of lines, or walking along the curb. You never know what you might find.

To paint a traffic signal box of your own, you can apply to Artforce here. If you are successful you will receive an equipment box from the local ward office where the traffic signal box is located. Painting periods are usually 18 days. Participants can pick up the equipment box in the days prior and must return it within one week of finishing the painting.

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