New Traffic Cabinet Designed by AJHS Student
News Source: City of Apache Junction
To celebrate public art and local artists, the Apache Junction Public Arts Commission, in collaboration with the city’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and Apache Junction High School (AJHS), organized a school-wide Traffic Cabinet Public Art Contest.
The contest, launched earlier this year, invited all AJHS students to design artwork that best represents school pride for a traffic cabinet located on the northeast corner of Ironwood Drive and Southern Avenue.
The winning entry of the public art contest was designed by Sheyla Sebastian Marcos, a talented 11th-grade student who created a piece that captures the spirit and pride of the school through vibrant color and thoughtful imagery.
“Having my art in the community gives me pride in my skills as an artist,” said Sheyla. “It also gives me courage to pursue more public art projects in the future and motivation to improve my skills.”
The Traffic Cabinet Public Art Contest originated from a directive by the Apache Junction City Council, which requested to designate a city traffic cabinet at Veterans Memorial Park and Apache Junction High School for themed designs that honor veterans and school pride, respectively.
The competition attracted a diverse range of submissions from high school students. Once the contest closed, YAC conducted a blind voting process to rank the submissions and recommend the top designs to the Public Arts Commission, taking into consideration originality, artistic excellence, and adherence to the specified theme.
The Public Arts Commission then chose its preferred design to recommend to the City Council. Ultimately, the City Council made the final decision and approved the winning design during the consent agenda at the Tuesday, May 20 City Council meeting.
Details on the contest, submissions, and public art in Apache Junction can be found at www.apachejunctionaz.gov/publicart.
