All cities have utility and news boxes on sidewalks scattered around town and frequently they are painted different colors depending upon who owns them. They tend to serve as magnets for used gum, local tagers, sticker collections, and leaflets about garage sales and lost pets. The Art Box Project is a citywide initiative that was organized in 2011 by Tina Morrill a then graduate student at San Jose State. Inspired by boxes she had seen in Edmonton, Canada she singlehandedl

Utility boxes are for the most part rectangular, gray, metal structures housing needed electrical wiring. They are also both drab and ubiquitous. Now there are exceptions in the form of original artwork transforming drab to dramatic and gray to colorful. Art Box Project San Jose is behind these mini street beautification efforts bringing smiles to passersby. Tina Morrill, a community activist completing her master’s degree in public administration at San Jose State University