Public Art Project Takes Form

The city's collaboration with local artists to beautify streets is taking shape in Watsonville.

, when the city arts committee made a call for artist proposals. The initial program involves decorating five utility boxes.

The first box-art to take shape is on Freedom Boulevard at Martinelli Street, in front of the . Artist Vanessa Stafford's work features the fountain from the City Plaza and bust of George Washington, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The goal of the public art program is to reduce graffiti and eliminate blight, Laurie Blackburn, an administrative analyst in the city's Redevelopment and Housing Department who staffs the Public Art Committee told Watsonville Patch in August.