Art hoisted onto city light poles

Banner by Jessica Witmer

One hundred different street banners are now hanging from city light poles throughout downtown.  The banners are part of the Urban Forest Project, and each banner uses the form of (or metaphor for) a tree to make statements about the environment, creating a "forest" of images to promote a cleaner city.

The city was undertaken to raise awareness about greening and tree planting initiatives in D.C.  “We hope this project will highlight the importance of growing a healthy urban tree canopy and draw attention to the excellent work done day in and day out by our Urban Forestry Administration,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “Trees in an urban setting require great care and we need businesses and residents to partner with us to ensure that trees survive.”

Many of the banners were designed by local high school and college students.  You can hear some of the artists talk about their banners in this YouTube video.

The banners line G street starting at 10th Street and go west to 15th Street.  They then go up New York Avenue to K Street and go down K Street from 9th Street to 16th Street.