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City plans call for artists for trail tunnel mural; board outlines community-driven themes
Summary
City staff told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board the tunnel under FM 2499 will be waterproofed and painted white; staff proposed a call for artists and discussed using community-submitted concepts — including child and school contributions — to create a gallery-like installation.
Highland Village staff told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on March 17 that the tunnel beneath FM 2499 will be prepared for public art and the city intends to run a call for artists to select a design.
Phil, the director of Parks and Recreation, said the tunnel’s waterproofing was completed several months ago and the city is budgeting roughly $15,000–$16,000 to have the tunnel painted white as a base. Staff said the painting will likely occur after city budget dollars are released in October; the intent is to issue a call for artists, review concept submissions and select one or several artists to produce the finished work.
Board members discussed design approach and selection criteria. Leslie Andrews suggested a community-driven approach that would feature children’s work or postcard-style submissions, with a professional artist adapting or integrating those pieces into a larger composition. Other board members recommended keeping the prompt high-level — for example, asking artists to interpret “what the parks mean to you” — while reserving the right to set appropriateness limits and technical requirements. Phil said he will consult the city attorney on any legal questions about submissions and will develop a scoring rubric to evaluate proposals.
Staff and board discussed whether to limit submissions to Highland Village residents. One board member proposed prioritizing residents when proposals are otherwise equal; others supported an open call but giving local applicants a scoring preference. The board also discussed whether to include school programs; Phil said the initiative would be a city project, not an official LISD program, though student work could be considered as part of community submissions.
Board members suggested several selection processes: a gallery-style installation of small works by multiple artists, a single-artist concept that interprets community themes, or a curated combination of community-submitted pieces reproduced by a lead artist. Timeline discussed during the meeting: staff will draft the submission guidance and scoring criteria, solicit concepts, narrow finalists with board input, and bring recommendations to city council. The goal is to have artwork completed and featured around next year’s art festival (the city’s annual art festival typically occurs on the first Saturday in May).
Ending: Phil said staff will summarize the board’s input, develop a call-for-artists package with evaluation criteria, consult legal counsel on submission terms and return to the board by email with a draft for final input before issuing the call.
