Drive or walk by the northwest corner of Main and Sycamore Streets and you will see Zionsville students painting the traffic control box in the theme of social justice. This project, “All in This Together for Social Justice,” is the brainchild of 8th grade Zionsville Middle School student Phoebe Sidebottom. Phoebe was inspired by the Black Lives Matter murals and as part of an effort to secure a Girl Scouts Silver Award, Phoebe raised all the funds to accomplish this project.
Phoebe worked in collaboration with the Zionsville Cultural District (ZCD), the Mayor’s office, Palette Art Studio and Robert Goodman Jewelers to organize this art contest for Zionsville Community Schools students. Judges included Phoebe, Senator J.D. Ford, Zionsville artist Cynthia Young, Zionsville business owner Lolly Mahaney, Zionsville photographer Tom Casalini and Zionsville Diversity Coalition member Monisha Mitchell.
The winners from each school level include Eagle Elementary student Nina Tucker, Zionsville West Middle School student Audrey Mast and Zionsville Community High School student Grace Lizama. With assistance from local artist Rebecca Cisneros of Palette Art Studio, these young artists are bringing their visions to life throughout October. Cisneros has traced the outlines of each design onto the traffic box and the students are filling in the details and colors of their work.
“I am proud of Phoebe for organizing such an impactful public art project,” Mayor Emily Styron said. “In her we see our future change makers and leaders. This artwork serves as a beautiful and resilient representation of social justice in our community. Let the voice of these young change-makers ring positively throughout our Zionsville community.”
“This has been such a fun project to work on,” Phoebe said. “It's been so great to partner with the Town, community partners and the students to see this vision come to life.”