Silver Spring Mural Competition Deadline Draws Near

Voters can choose from one of three designs to face future Purple Line

Silver Spring Urban District One of the proposed mural designs for a wall at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Bonifant Street features a large chameleon

This fall, a new piece of art will be coming to downtown Silver Spring, and residents still have a few days to voice their opinion.

A mural will be installed on a wall near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Bonifant Street, and will face the future light-rail Purple Line, which is under construction and expected to begin running in 2022. Over the summer, the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District asked artists to submit designs for the mural that “conveyed a sense of movement and whimsy,” according to a press release.

Since the middle of September, the urban district has been conducting an online poll where users can vote for which design they want to see. So far 2,000 votes have been cast, with voting scheduled to end Monday.

One design features a green chameleon with a big yellow eye, a sketch of a Purple Line train on the body and what appears to be an engineer’s hat against a purple striped background.

Another design is slightly more abstract, and involves an oversized sun with beams touching what appears to be a tree of some sort, against a purple, prism-like design.

And the third design appears to represent the changing color of leaves as fall approaches.

“We had some beautiful designs submitted, but the jury could only choose three that we felt best represented the theme,” Reemberto Rodriguez, who is the director of the Silver Spring Regional Center, said in the press release.

Once a winner is chosen, the name of the artist will be revealed and the Bethesda real estate firm Washington Property Co. will fund the cost of the mural’s installation. The mural will join other public art displays in downtown Silver Spring, including the well-known penguin mural that sits on the wall of the street underpass below the Silver Spring Metro station.

Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@bethesdamagazine.com