NewtonSERVES BoxART Winners Announced

Updated Fri., April 27, 9:20 a.m.

Starting Sunday, parts of Newton will have a bit more color and flare. 

As part of the , eight of the city's electrical boxes will be painted this Sunday by local volunteers who submitted art proposals for the .

According to Hilary Bialek, NewtonSERVES public relations manager, the winning proposals were submitted by:

• Fiza Ansari & Margalit Glasgow
• Marcia Cooper
• Elizabeth Bodell Gargas
• Maya Ludwig
• Josh Reisz
• Hussein Saouli
• Singha Sihakhom
• Yelena Sirota

"Overall, the entries are creative works of art that represent Newton, pictorially or symbolically. The artists have wonderful imagination and talent. It'll be exciting to see the artwork on a full size scale once the utility boxes are painted and completed by May 12," Bialek said.

The NewtonSERVES BoxART project is a joint effort of the Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs, Public Works Department and Newton Community Pride, chaired by Josh Reisz. 

Residents can stop by the various BoxART locations during NewtonSERVES to check out the artwork for themselves and see the artists in action.

The BoxART locations include:

• Commonwealth Avenue at Grant Avenue
• Commonwealth Avenue at Lexington Street 
• Washington St at Chestnut Street 
• Walnut Street at Lincoln Street 
• Commonwealth Avenue at Washington Street 
• Washington Street at Walnut Street 
• Commonwealth Avenue @ Walnut Street
• Piccadilly Square at Centre Street and Beacon Street.

The BoxART Committee will hold additional rounds for submissions, as there are plenty of other electrical boxes around the city. The due dates for the art proposals are June 15 and August 1. 

The request for proposal (RFP) for the BoxART program is available online.

NewtonSERVES will be held this Sunday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various sites across the city. The deadline for volunteer registration has been extended to tonight at midnight, and residents are encouraged to sign up to help out with one of many projects across the city. More information is available on the Newton Community Pride website.

Note: The photo above is not a Newton BoxART example, it is an example of a similar program run elsewhere in the country.