Signal Box
Signal Box
Signal Box is an initiative of the City of Hobart's Public Art Program, which provides community organisations and individuals with an opportunity to paint an original artwork on a traffic signal box. Signal Box is made possible by the in-kind support of the Tasmanian Department of State Growth, the owners and operators of traffic signal boxes in Hobart.
Expressions of Interest are now open for artists and community groups to paint 12 signal boxes around the city. In this round, each artist/community group will be paid a fee of $400. Download the brief and submit an Expressions of Interest.
Closes 13 November 2020.
View a gallery of painted traffic signal boxes within the city at Urban Smart Projects.
A selection of completed boxes
Box 9101, corner Davey and Harrington streets
Artist: Migrant Resource Centre – Georgie Marshall and Najibeh Jafari
Title: No Trees No City
Description: If there are no trees we have nothing.
Year: 2011
Box 9103, corner Davey and Murray streets
Artist: Rory Lefroy
Title: Safe with us now
Description: This is a fantasy where 10 Murray Street, a building earmarked for demolition, is rescued by Tasmanian Tigers and relocated.
Year: 2011
Box 9104, corner Macquarie and Murray streets
Artist: Cosmos Inc.
Title: Things we love about Tasmania
Description: A representation of what Tasmania means to the clients of Cosmos.
Year: 2011
Box 9105, corner Davey and Argyle streets
Artist: Valentina Marshall, Veronika Beinssen-Henry
Title: Spotted Handfish
Description: A colourful and happy TSB that draws awareness to the critically endangered spotted handfish, which is only found in areas of the Derwent River, Hobart.
Year: 2011
Box 9106, corner Macquarie and Argyle streets
Artist: Nicole Robson for MADE (Mature Artists Dance Experience)
Title: MADE
Description: Ornate wallpaper.
Year: 2011
Box 9107, corner Campbell and Macquarie streets
Artist: Lucy Hawthorne
Title: The Pigeons of Hobart
Description: A tribute to our feathery friends.
Year: 2012
Box 9108, corner Campbell and Collins streets
Artist: Juanita Morris and Marcel Fantini for Youth Arts & Recreation Centre
Title: Crazy Flower Pattern
Description: Hand-drawn flower pattern designed by young people that access the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre.
Year: 2012
Box 9109, corner Argyle and Liverpool streets
Artists: Tasmanian Polytechnic, Migrant Education, Hands on English class
Title: Hands on Tasmania
Description: New responses to Tasmania.
Year: 2012
Winner: Best Organisation Award 2012
Box 9110, corner Argyle and Collins streets
Artists: Oakdale Services (with assistance from RecLink)
Title: Holiday Time
Description: Oakdale Services clients Joy, Gary, Mary, Peter, Janine, Julie and Sandra had fun imagining where they would go or what they might do on vacation.
Year: 2011
Box 9111, corner Macquarie and Elizabeth streets
Artists: Young people supported by the Create Foundation and RecLinkhave worked with artist Aedan Howlettto design and paint the box. The Create Foundation supports children and young people in out of home care.
Title: From darkness we all can find the light
Description: This design portrays a young person feeling alone, scared and wrought with feelings of self harm and abandonment. As a result of loving and supportive carers, the young person is able to move towards a brighter, happier future. ‘Our artwork is trying to show how you can get from the dark side of life to the other by simply taking a chance. If you take that chance and step out of the darkness you'll find your life is more beautiful!’ Bek, 22 years old.
Year: 2010
Box 9112, corner Murray and Collins streets
Artist: Desma Pacitto for Tascare Society for Children
Title: TasCare Society for Children
Description: There is a community for everyone.
Year: 2011
Box 9113, corner Liverpool and Murray streets
Artist: Reclink – Phillip McKay, Headway
Title: Such is Life
Description: Designs from workshops conducted at Headway, an organisation involving people with brain injuries.
Year:2011
Box 9114, corner Elizabeth and Liverpool streets
Artists: Risdon Prisoners with assistance from RecLink
Title:At What Cost?
Description:The Risdon Prison Project emphasised the beauty and value of nature. In keeping with this environmental theme the design highlights iconic Tassie features such as Cradle Mountain and Wineglass Bay. The illusive Tasmanian Tiger is glimpsed and tracks are found growing in vines. The curves in this design mirror the architecture in the public space across the road and the design maintains a sense of fun and vibrancy.
Year: 2011
Box 9115, corner Elizabeth and Collins streets
Artist: Sam Fenton
Title: Courage
Description: This artwork is an imitation of various shaped, oxidized metal sheets, riveted together, with foliage growing from the joins, obscuring sections of the rusty background. Heavily textured sandstone also features.
Year: 2012
Box 9118, corner Harrington and Liverpool streets
Artists: Epilepsy Tasmania
Title: Out of the Shadows
Description: A core group from Epilepsy Tasmania, Hobart worked together to produce artwork which represents the following: epilepsy being unmasked in the community to reduce stigma and promote acceptance. The image incorporates participants' experience of the actual process of physical tests, for example EEG, neuro-conductor studies and synapses monitoring. It depicts emotions that tell of living with conditions such as isolation, loneliness, misunderstanding and the daily impact of epilepsy such as triggers including heat, flashing lights, tiredness and stress.
Year: 2012
Box 9119, corner Bathurst and Murray streets
Artist: Malou Zuidema
Title: Forests of the Sea
Description: The magic underwater world of Tasmania, with its beautiful giant kelp forest and swirling sea life.
Year: 2012
Box 9121, corner Elizabeth and Bathurst streets
Artist: Menzie Family
Title: The many layers of Bathurst Street
Description: My children wanted to show all the great things you could see from the Signal Box ... there are shops, a library, a post office, a theatre, yummy food shops and lots of smiles from the locals, never forgetting the ever present traffic lights sending us in lots of interesting directions ... we love our city the many layers of Bathurst Street.
Year: 2011
Box 9123, Elizabeth Street at pedestrian crossing, North Hobart
Artists: Sharnie Everett and Palawa Aboriginal Group
Title: Island & Ocean
Description: This is a depiction of our island culture and the intertwining of the ocean's resources as used by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. It also includes traditional symbols of importance to our community.
Year: 2012
Box 9129, corner Barrack and Liverpool streets
Artist: Caroline Amos
Title: Scotch Thistle Tavern 1828
Description: The site of the original Scotch Thistle Tavern is on the opposite street corner.
Year: 2012
Box 9131, corner Collins and Harrington streets
Artists: Tasmanian eSchool: Thomas Fulton, Perri Deane, Emma Elliott
Title: Flicks
Description: Students arrived at this design because of its proximity to the cinema complex.
Year: 2012
Box 9136, corner Elizabeth and Warwick streets
Artist: Steffi Koppelmann
Title:Untitled
Description: An exploration of the connections that exist throughout society. I am particularly interested in social links and interconnections created by our experiences, relationships and thought.
Year: 2012
Box 9137, corner Elizabeth and Burnett streets
Artists: The Friends’ School Kindergarten
Title: Peace
Description: As The Friends' School is a Quaker school we have decided to base our artwork and thinking for the signal box in Burnett Street around one of the Quaker values: peace. We invited the Kindergarten children to think what peace means to them.
Year: 2012
Joint Winner: Best School Award, 2012
Box 9138, corner Elizabeth and Federal streets
Artist: Geordie Duncan
Title:Totem Sun-Whale Eye
Description:The designrefers to Hobart's history as a whaling port.
Year: 2011
Box 9140, corner Macquarie and Molle streets
Artists: St Michael's Collegiate, Louise Bloomfield
Title: Catching your eye
Description: This design is made up of the eye catching things that surround our block. It connects key symbols of the school to the symbols of the urban environment in a bright and colourful way.
Year: 2012
Box 9148, corner Elizabeth and Davey streets
Artists: Leigh and Julian Oates
Title: Beneath
Description: The artwork is a representation of life beneath the water from two artists: father and son.
Year: 2011
Box 9149, corner Brisbane and Harrington streets
Artist: Tom O'Hern
Title: Stump
Description: A tree stump, made up of fine pattern.
Year: 2012
Winner: Best Independent Artist Award, 2012
Box 9151, corner Brisbane and Elizabeth streets
Artist: Hannah Cardamatis
Title: Hannah's
Description: Seasons of Hobart.
Year: 2012
Box 9168, corner Sandy Bay and Gladstone roads
Artists: The Hutchins School Kindergarten, Kate Turner
Title: Childhood Wishes
Description: The four and five-year-old students from Kindergarten were asked ‘What do children know that adults don't know?’ The answer they came up with is HOW TO IMAGINE. Their design focused on dreams and wishes and imaginings for the future.
Year: 2012
Box 9175, corner Barrack and Davey streets
Artist: Community Rehabilitation Unit Art Group, Julie Oh
Title: Live
Description: The design represents health services which have been provided on this site, 90 Davey Street, historically and currently. The blues in our design reflect health/hospital settings. Parts of the human body indicate a focus on specific areas of the body in relation to the rehabilitation needs of individuals requiring skilled health workers in many disciplines to guide the rehabilitation process.
Year: 2012
Box 9177, corner Morrison and Murray streets
Artists: Oak Tasmania with assistance from Aedan Howlett and RecLink.
Title: Moving On
Description: Nine Oak Tasmania have worked with artist Aedan Howlett to develop a design for the project and to paint the box. The painting is about 'moving on' and depicts different methods of doing this.
Year: 2010
Box 9179, corner Elizabeth and Morrison streets
Artists: Students of Hilliard Christian School
Title: Summer Fun in Hobart
Description: The students that designed this box wanted to show Tassie as 'the end of the rainbow', a treasure box full of surprises. They wanted to show all the great things that the Waterfront is known for: yummy food, great times, the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (they even researched the winner of the very first race). Of course they wanted to show the never-ending struggle between seagulls and their love of hot chippies. They also wanted to acknowledge that the signal box is at the beginning of Elizabeth Street – and also to showcase the ever beautiful River Derwent.
Year: 2011
Box 9194, corner Davey Street and Southern Outlet
Artist: iriXx
Title: Mandala
Description: This artwork takes its inspiration from the colours of the local environment, ethnographic art and fractal geometry. The Mandala is a symbol of unity and the vines within the design represent unity, peace, harmony and community. The design was initially inspired by the music video 'Proboscis' by Paradox Explorer.
Year: 2012
Box 9408, Murray Street (outside Hudson's Coffee)
Artists: Community Friends & Networks Program (South), Support & Equity Unit, Division of the PVC (Students and Education)
Title: Community Friends
Description: A collaboration between international university students and primary school children and their interpretation of community.
Year: 2011
Box 9413, corner Macquarie Street and Southern Outlet
Artist: Wendy Fitch
Title:The Creature
Description: A strange fishlike rainbow-serpent-inspired creature bursting out from the asphalt, containing the creative essence of Hobart.
Year: 2012
Box 9415, corner Brisbane and Campbell streets
Artist: Hayley Francis
Title:The Brisbane Stack
Description: The box located on the corner of Brisbane and Campbell streets is right outside a popular live music venue in Hobart, so I made the box into an iconic stack of amps.
Year: 2012
Box 9429, Argyle Street near the Royal Hobart Hospital
Artist: Krista Rosewarne, Meryl Davies, Jack Rosewarne
Title: Forever Young
Description: This artwork depicts silhouettes of children from Hobart, all of whom have had some involvement with the hospital opposite. These figures are now forever young, with symbols of Hobart – river, mountain, earth -painted within their outlines.
Year: 2011
Box 9437, corner Campbell and Warwick streets
Artists: Campbell St Primary School
Title: Our School in our Community
Description: The Campbell Street logo with circles hold continents of the world which represent our multicultural school.
Year: 2012
Box 9466, corner Harrington and Melville streets
Artists: Guilford Young College: Helen Spencer, Marcus Deacey, Tom O'Meara
Title: Sense of Place
Description: Each face of the box corresponds with the mapped land beyond it. In other words, facing south down Harrington Street the facet shows the map of the land beyond the box. At the top of each facet, the urban mapped landscape gives way to the land underneath, the land of the traditional custodians, the Mouheneenner People.
Year: 2012