G-PARC Arts and Culture Alliance in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg

CALL TO ARTISTS FOR STORM DRAIN ARTWORK

General Information

G-PARC Arts Alliance & City of Gaithersburg
2025 CALL TO ARTISTS FOR STORM DRAIN ART

The Storm Drain Art program is designed to use art to engage, educate, and motivate people to prevent pollutants from entering our rivers and streams through storm drains. Artwork that includes short messaging will inform people how storm drains are linked directly to our water supply and why they need to be kept free of litter and toxins.

The program for 2025 will include murals on storm drains within the City of Gaithersburg that have been identified by the Stormwater Management Team.

Who Can Enter?

Any resident of any age in Montgomery County, MD may submit art. Entries by those under 18 require a parent or guardian signature.

What is the Prize?

The winners will paint their artwork on a storm drain and may also see their designs on banners, posters, coloring books, social media, and other educational materials in Gaithersburg in 2025-2026 (and maybe even longer)!

The art will be visible to the public and will play an important role in educating Gaithersburg and Montgomery County residents on water quality issues. Plus, the art will help beautify the City and add a pop of color and beauty to typically dull storm drains.

Deadline

Submit entries by February 22, 2025
Winners will be announced on World Water Day - March 22, 2025
Winning artists will paint their designs on a selected storm drain on the group paint day scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025 (In celebration of Earth Day) with a rain date of Sunday, April 27, 2025.

How Do I Enter?

Step 1. Determine if this contest is right for you. The Storm Drain Art Contest is limited to residents of Montgomery County, MD. City of Gaithersburg government employees and elected and appointed officials, contest judges, and family members of contest judges are not eligible. Artists will need to be able to paint their designs on a drain with family and friends on the Storm Drain Paint Day.

Step 2. Read the Rules and Restrictions, which explains the details, timing, and requirements of the contest. For additional information, see the Storm Drain Art Contest FAQs.

Step 3. Get creative! Think about what message you would like to communicate about water quality, pollution, and our streams. Sketch out some ideas, and test them on family and friends. Also think about the medium you would like to use to create the art – on a computer, hand-drawn, painted, etc.

Step 4. Create your artwork. Utilizing the guidelines in the Rules and Restrictions, you can submit up to two (2) art designs to the contest. Please be sure to use a template that is a ratio of 2:4 (e.g., 4 inches tall by 8 inches wide) to ensure your artwork will fit properly on a typical storm drain. Also, please be sure to outline your artwork with a black marker or line as a final step to help make it easier to transfer your design onto a storm drain.

Step 5. Depending on the medium in which your art was created, either convert it to a .pdf, .jpg, or .png file or take a picture of your art in those formats. Try to make the picture as crisp and clear as possible and capture the entire piece in one picture. (If you are submitting two designs, they should each be a separate submission.)

Step 6. Submit your design(s) through this online form. If by mail, complete one Entry and Release Form for each design.

Judging

The winners will be selected by a panel of judges. There will be several winners, one per drain.

Environmental Phrases to be Used as Inspiration:

Only Rain Down the Drain
Save the Creatures of the Bay
Clean Water Makes the Earth Happy
Gaithersburg says NO to Litter
Don’t Pour that Goop in the Storm Drain

Helpful Resources

Storm Drain Art Contest FAQs
G-PARC Album of Storm Drain Art
Flickr Album of Storm Drain Art View pictures of other storm drain art in Montgomery County. Help get those creative juices flowing!
To learn more about water quality protection, visit our Stormwater 101 webpage.

Share This Contest with Friends and Neighbors!

The 2025 contest is hosted by the Gaithersburg Parks, Arts, Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) Arts and Culture Alliance in collaboration with the City of Gaithersburg Cultural Events and Services and Storm Water Management Divisions.

Would you like to join our mailing list? Go here.

Application

This section is to be completed for all artists:

Artist First Name *

Artist Last Name *

Street Address *

Address Line 2

City *

State *

Zip Code *

Phone Number *

Email Address (Applicant if 18 or over, Parent/Guardian if under 18) *

If the artist is under 18 years old, please answer the following two questions. Otherwise, you may skip to the release and signature.

If artist is under 18 years old, age of artist:

If artist is under 18 years old, school name:

If the participant is under 18 years of age the following section must be completed and signed by a parent/legal guardian of the artist.

I am the parent/legal guardian overseeing of the above minor and consent to this agreement on his/her behalf:

If artist is under 18 years old, parent/guardian name:

RELEASE

I, the undersigned, represent that the art entry described above is an original work of authorship personally created by the named artist and that it is not copied from, nor does it include, any other person’s copyrighted work. In consideration for the acceptance of the art entry by G-PARC and the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland (the “City”), the undersigned grants G-PARC and the City the right to publicly display the art entry, and to reproduce the art entry for any non-commercial purpose.

The undersigned also consents to the City's use of any photographs, recordings, data, information and/or videotapes which include the art entry, whether through an online internet, virtual presentation or provided in person and the undersigned waives any privacy, ownership or copyright concern in any presentation or recording of their work at an event, on the internet, online or in a virtual setting.

The undersigned further releases G-PARC and the City from any and all liability for damage, loss, or misappropriation of the art entry during and subsequent to the Storm Drain Art Contest (the “Art Contest”). The undersigned further agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the City against any and all claims related to my participation in the Art Contest including, but not limited to, claims of copyright infringement, by any party, arising out of or in any way related to the submission of any entry in the Art Contest.

Signed by: *

Artist (18 & older)

Parent/Guardian (under 18)

Signature (signer must be 18 years or older) *

clear

Name of Person Signing *

Application Attachments

Documents

Artist Images (ONE REQUIRED, ADDITONAL OPTIONAL)

Please upload one or two images. Images must be in JPG, PNG, TIFF or PDF format and not less than 96 dpi, but no greater than 300 dpi. All images must not exceed 10 MB.

Artists MUST label each image file as following: Artist name_Title of work (for example; JaneDoe_DownTheDrain.jpg).

Image #1

Phrase for Image 1: *

Only Rain Down the Drain	Save the Creatures of the Bay
Clean Water Makes the Earth Happy	Gaithersburg Says NO to Litter
Don't Pour that Goop in the Storm Drain

Artist’s Statement: (In the space provided, please provide a description of the artwork in image 1 including the key theme of the art and why your artwork would help to educate the public about water quality issues.) *

0/100 words

Title of Image 1: *

IMAGE #1 *

Image #2

Phrase for Image 2:

Only Rain Down the Drain	Save the Creatures of the Bay
Clean Water Makes the Earth Happy	Gaithersburg Says NO to Litter
Don't Pour that Goop in the Storm Drain

Artist’s Statement: (In the space provided, please provide a description of the artwork in image 2 including the key theme of the art and why your artwork would help to educate the public about water quality issues.)

0/100 words

Title of Image 2:

IMAGE #2

In just a couple of sentences, what inspired you to participate in the Storm Drain Art Program? What inspired your image? (optional)

If you need help with your images or documents, please email artgalleries@gaithersburgmd.gov.

Save & Return

Use an account to return to saved work.