Neighborhood Gardens

Those concrete jersey barrier things always look crummy, and Lowell has a bunch of them on bridges and whatnot. Painting them in fun ways is a simple fix.

Benefit:

Painted infrastructure makes the city look more lively.

Location:

Citywide, OldIdea.

Paint concrete barricades!

Idea:

There are so many ugly concrete barricades along the canals and bridges. We could work with the owners of these temporary “jersey barriers” and paint them! Maybe with chalkboard paint. Or historical scenes!

Benefit:

Eyesore reduction.

Location:

Citywide, OldIdea.

Painted Junction Boxes (or whatever those electrical things are)

Idea:

Hire artists to paint those ugly grey and beige electrical boxes at curbside with colorful, amazing images. Materials needed: paint, dropcloths. Hold an exhibit with ideas, choose the best, pay artists for time and materials.

Benefit:

Beautify our cityscape. Add visual interest, plus its a way for artists to show their work in a nontraditional setting. We could hold a tour of the boxes when the project is completed. Makes Lowell look like the artistic place it is.

Location:

Downtown / JAM, OldIdea.

Painted Moss

Idea:

Collect moss and blend it with a culture like buttermilk. This paste can be used just like paint and be applied to brick to create a beautiful plant-based works of art.

Benefit:

Buildings south of Market in downtown would see more foot traffic to see free public art work.

Location:

Downtown / JAM, OldIdea.

Painting History

Idea:

Repaint all the old billboards in downtown. Brighten up the history instead of watching it fade away. 🙁 If restoring a billboard proves too expensive or complex for DIY Lowell, create an event or an exhibit to draw attention to the billboards and their importance to downtown’s character.

Benefit:

It would bring it alive!!!!! An event or exhibit could create more interest or knowledge about restoring these historical advertisements.

Location:

Downtown / JAM, OldIdea.