Storm Drain Art Project

The Client

The Gaithersburg Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that engages public & private partnerships, promotes awareness, and raises resources to support new & matured parks, arts & recreation initiatives in Gaithersburg.

The Challenge

The Gaithersburg Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) Art Alliance, in conjunction with the City of Gaithersburg Stormwater Management Program, created the Storm Drain Art project designed to bring attention to the importance of protecting our Chesapeake Bay watershed. We needed create the contest, write the rules, launch the contest, promote it, select the winners and coordinate the paint-out day.

The Solution

We met with Ana Arriaza, the project manager at the Montgomery County Storm Drain Art Program who explained how she handles it. She provided us with the paperwork they used, including rules and restrictions, release forms, FAQs and I adapted them to our contest.

We launched the contest through the City’s communication outlets, including the website and social media channels. I coordinated a press release and the creation of a page for the contest on the website; and disseminated the call to entries through Facebook and Instagram. I also coordinated an ad with the MoCo Show and published the information on websites that advertise local events in the County.

I reached out to Montgomery County, and they gladly agreed to post it on the front page of their website.

I interviewed with WCMA to talk about the contest and provided a b-roll that I coordinated to be taken during the paint-out day. The video is also accompanied by a written article that you can read here.

I created and directly managed a social media campaign featuring the winners with their certificates.

I contacted a reporter from abc7 who came to cover the paint-out day. You can read the article and watch the video here.

Carina Araujo interviewing with Kevin from abc7 news

Previous to the paint-out day I scripted the protocol for the event and created a detailed checklist of materials to bring. I also mapped the tasks that everyone in the team was in charge of.

This year I created a user-friendly way of selecting the winners for the juries. Using FIGJAM, an electronic whiteboard, I was able to offer an easy drag-and-drop format.

I recruited my husband who is a professional photographer and videographer to record the event. The photos can be found here.

Finally, I designed a coloring book with the designs of the winners and honorable mentions. The book was distributed during the book festival and was sent to elementary schools in the City.

Download the coloring book here