Gastonia trying to brighten up downtown with art

Gastonia received a $10,000 grant that city officials plan to use to brighten up downtown with public art.

The city received the money from ElectriCities of North Carolina, which granted Gastonia one of four $10,000 downtown revitalization grants.

The city plans to use vinyl renditions of stock art to wrap NCDOT traffic signal boxes with colorful designs at eight downtown intersections, said Tori Dellinger, an economic development specialist.

"It's just something to add a little bit of color in downtown," Dellinger said.

The city has to first go through an approval process with the Department of Transportation that will allow the city to alter the DOT's property, and city officials hope for that process to be complete in the spring.

Using vinyl wraps on the boxes will allow them to easily replace the art if it gets damaged, Dellinger said. The city is using art that artists upload to stock websites.

It is the city's second time receiving a grant from ElectriCities. They first received the grant in 2019, and they spent the money a mural.