FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2020
(Opelousas, LA) –A fifth art wrapped traffic box was unveiled on Wednesday, September 30th in downtown Opelousas. Located on the corner of Bellevue and Main Streets in Opelousas next to City Hall, the traffic box features artwork by long time folk artist Rebecca Henry.
Henry grew up around the Opelousas countryside speaking both English and French fluently. A sharecropper’s daughter, she spent her youth picking cotton in the fields with her three sisters and two brothers. The Boxed Art design depicts Henry’s early childhood memories about life on the farm.
Henry has spent the majority of her life working to preserve creole traditions she grew up with, especially folk medical traditions. She is the founder of the Creole Heritage Folklife Center and various other cultural events such as the annual Sharecropper’s Day and Juneteenth Celebration.
The Boxed Art project transforms metal traffic boxes into creative canvases. The project is one of the activities for the City’s 300-year celebration. Led by Opelousas Tourism, and organizational support from the Celebrate Opelousas 300 Commission, the goal of the Boxed Art project is to enliven community space while showcasing the talent of artists in our community.
Along with the newest box at Bellevue and Main Streets, four other traffic boxes have been wrapped and can be seen around Opelousas. Those locations include Wallior and Vine and Landry Streets, Court and Landry Street, Dunbar and Hwy 182 – Union Streets and Railroad and Church Streets. Artists for those traffic boxes includes Jerome Ford, Sue Boagni, B.J. Smith and Ke’Shawn Collins.
Funding for the project was made possible through a grant from Union Pacific Foundation. For more information about Boxed Art, email tourism@cityofopelousas.com
Last modified: June 21, 2022
