Art En Route Bus Shelter Sidewalk Mural Project

The Asphalt Art Initiative was created to help cities use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces and engage their communities. The program not only seeks to create vibrant public spaces but also looks to build city capacity for working with artists and community groups on projects involving transportation infrastructure.

Dubuque's solution to the Asphalt Art Initiative call was Art En Route, a project at the intersection of public art, public transit, and local sustainability efforts that will enhance 14 bus shelter locations throughout Dubuque with climate-focused painted murals on the sidewalk surface under and around the shelters. The network of murals will draw attention to the City’s extensive and accessible public transit system as a community asset while encouraging residents to actively partner in Dubuque’s Climate Action Plan and celebrate those that already do. The project also advances goals and priorities of the Arts and Culture Master Plan to make arts and cultural resources and activities available in every neighborhood in the city and county, make art more visible in all aspects of daily life in Dubuque, and facilitate the presence and participation of arts and culture at non-cultural activities and venues.

Through an open call and targeted artist recruitment process, climate action-focused sidewalk mural designs will be added to bus shelter locations through the city by August 31, 2022. Visit Dubuque's 50% by 2030 Community Climate Action Plan or the Art En Route survey results that ranked 45 climate-focused concepts based on community priorities.

The project's primary funding source is the Bloomberg Philanthropies grant with in-kind and additional support from City of Dubuque. The project is produced in collaboration with Green Dubuque, Sustainable Dubuque, the City of Dubuque's Transit Department, and Gigantic Design.