Keep McAllen Beautiful Call for Artists

City of McAllen hike and bike trails to feature artwork

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Keep McAllen Beautiful Call for Artists

Keep McAllen Beautiful irrigation pipes artwork by Manuel Robledo, Cristina Pechero, Concepcion Flores and Alejandra Leal.
Keep McAllen Beautiful irrigation pipes artwork by Manuel Robledo, Cristina Pechero, Concepcion Flores and Alejandra Leal.

Keep McAllen Beautiful is working to give public art a stronger presence in the city.

The organization is seeking local design concepts that would painted on irrigation pipes. Submissions should promote the Rio Grande Valley natural landscape, ecology, species and heritage. The submission deadline is Oct. 25.

Location of the pipes is along the City of McAllen’s hike and bike trails along Bicentennial Boulevard and 2nd Street, According to Chris Lash, program coordinator for Keep McAllen Beautiful, the pipes are a part of the city’s agricultural history. They have long been seen as a promising place for public murals.

“We would like to make that idea a reality, and that’s where artists from throughout the Rio Grance Valley come in,” Lash said. “We want to recruit artists of the Rio Grande Valley, including Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron counties, to design and create beautiful artwork for one or more of these irrigation pipes!”

Large irrigation close-up of artwork by Esmeralda Benitez and Nelda Flores.
Large irrigation close-up of artwork by Esmeralda Benitez and Nelda Flores.

The specifics

Keep McAllen Beautiful is seeking design concepts that must be wrap-around colorful painting, focusing on the following themes: McAllen/Rio Grande Valley history and heritage; native ecology and species, such as birds, bugs, plants, or mammals; or any combination of those.

Organizers of the contest will then contact all entrants after the selection process by no later than Nov. 1 to let them know of project selection. Standpipe dimensions vary. Upon acceptance, the organization will work on assigning an appropriate irrigation pipe. Initial scope of the project locations will encompass Col. Rowe Boulevard/2nd Street from Trenton Avenue to Houston Avenue.

Keep McAllen Beautiful will pay for project materials and provide a small stipend to the artist. Upon request, the organization can also coordinate volunteers to help with prep work once the artist is ready to paint the irrigation pipe.

The artist’s portfolio or previous works should be part of the design concept submission. Artists may submit design concepts and portfolios to Keep McAllen Beautiful, Inc., P.O. Box 220, McAllen, TX 78505. Submissions may also be sent to kmb@mcallen.net. To drop off a hard copy, visit Keep McAllen Beautiful at 4101 N. Bentsen Road in McAllen. 

For more information or inquiries, call 956-681-4562.

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