FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2021
Opelousas Ready to Unveil Another Art Wrapped Traffic Signal Box on Creswell Lane on Thursday
(Opelousas, LA) – Opelousas Tourism, along with the Celebrate 300 Commission, is pleased to announce the unveiling of another traffic signal box scheduled on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the intersection of Creswell Lane @ I-49 Service Road across from Danny’s Tire World. The art wrapped traffic box features art by Alicia Johnson-Black. The public will be able to view the unveiling live via Opelousas Travel’s Facebook page.
A native of Opelousas, Alicia has been a high school art teacher in the New Orleans area. She began teaching in 2013 after she obtained a Bachelor of Art with a concentration in painting from McNeese State University and a Post-Baccalaureate in K-12 Art Education at Southern University of New Orleans. Alicia’s activities include solo art shows and exhibits at the Black Heritage Gallery, Opelousas Museum and Interpretive Center, Greenwell Library, McNeese State University, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Museum, The McKenna Museum of African American Art, and as a participant in many other solo and collaborative art shows around Louisiana.
Alicia has been a Jackson Square artist since 2012 where her artwork has been sold worldwide in London, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and other international sites. Her artwork has been featured on news shows, celebrity pages, radio stations, publications, Essence Magazine, and has been viewed and owned by celebrities such as Martin Lawrence, Blair Underwood, Cynthia Bailey, the late Leah Chase, the late Dave Bartholomew and a host of other celebrities. She was also part of Opelousas Main Street’s Fiddle Mania public art exhibit in 2012. Alicia and her husband and daughter currently reside in Slidell, Louisiana.
Organized by Opelousas Tourism, with support from the City of Opelousas, Boxed Art transforms ordinary metal traffic boxes into creative canvases for art. The boxes highlight the community’s character and culture, enhance public spaces and highlight artist and their talents in our area. The project began as one of the activities for the City’s 300-year celebration in 2020.
Six art-wrapped traffic boxes have already been completed and unveiled which include boxes located at Wallior, Vine, and Landry Streets featuring art by Jerome Ford, Court and Landry Street featuring art by Sue Boagni, Union and Dunbar Streets featuring art by B.J. Smith, North Railroad Avenue and West Church Street featuring art by Ke’Shawn Collins, Bellevue and Main Streets featuring art by Rebecca Henry, and Vine and Market Streets featuring art by Gerri Soileau.
Funding for the project is made possible through a grant from Union Pacific Foundation awarded to Opelousas Tourism secured. For more information about Boxed Art, email tourism@cityofopelousas.com
Last modified: June 21, 2022
