Eco-art contest offers New Castle County students $5,000 scholarship and opportunity to have artwork memorialized on Wilmington landmark.
NEWARK (DE): Delmarva Power’s storage tank is being repainted this summer and the company is giving local high school students the chance to design the new mural that will adorn the side of this Wilmington landmark.
To select a new mural, Delmarva Power, along with several community partners, today launched Paint the Tank, an innovative eco-art contest for high school students. The contest winner will not only have their original artwork painted on the side of the storage tank but will also receive a $5,000 scholarship they can put towards furthering their own studies and personal development.
“We are thrilled to provide this exciting opportunity for aspiring artists to showcase their talents,” said Gary Stockbridge, Delmarva Power region president. “The storage tank is an essential component in our efforts to provide safe, reliable, affordable and clean natural gas service for our customers and serves as an important landmark along Wilmington’s Riverfront. This innovative eco-art contest celebrates the importance of protecting sensitive habitats, like the Riverfront and the land around our facility, and we eagerly await the great artwork from our local students.”
The storage tank is located just south of downtown Wilmington and is visible from Interstate 95. Delmarva Power’s property surrounding the storage tank includes nearly 30 acres of natural woods and marshland, which support the neighboring Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge. In celebration of this important relationship, submissions for the eco-art contest will capture the importance of sustaining natural ecosystems and preserving the environment for future generations.
The contest will run from April 18 until June 1 and is open to individual high school students who reside in New Castle County, Del. or are enrolled in a high school in New Castle County, Del. In addition to the $5,000 scholarship for the winning submission, two $1,000 scholarships will also be awarded to two other finalists. The winning artwork and finalists will be selected by a panel of judges from Delmarva Power, its parent company Exelon, and representatives from a variety of community partners from local government, nonprofit organizations and businesses.
Students interested in the contest should visit www.delmarva.com/paintthetank for more information. Delmarva Power also encourages students to share their artwork on social media using #paintthetank. Artwork submissions, along with a completed submission form that is available on the Delmarva Power website, should be sent to paintthetank@delmarva.com.
Delmarva Power’s storage tank provides clean natural gas supply for the company’s 132,000 natural gas customers during heavy winter demand and other peak times. The storage tank is painted about every 20 years as part of the company’s standard maintenance practices and to meet federal and state regulations.
