Boston's rat traps are getting a new look thanks to some local artists
BOSTON - An art festival in Allston and Brighton is looking to bring some beauty to the neighborhood's rat problem. They are paying artists $100 to decorate ten rat traps that will be placed in the area. The event is aptly named the Rat City Art Festival. Their goal is to give artists a place to showcase and sell their art, while also working to find solutions to the rat problem.
"Everyone has a rat story"
"In my first apartment, I had a rat die within our walls. My wife, one of her neighbors had a rat die in her oven. I think everyone has a rat story living in Allston," jokes Rat City Art Festival Founder Ricky Meinke. "We are not just here to celebrate off a fun and debated name of Rat City. We are also here to address some of those rat problems too."
Their decorated traps will not have poison in them, but festival founders hope the city may take notice, and add a bit of art to any real traps that they lay around town. The idea is similar to utility box art.
"Maybe when the rat czar is present in the city of Boston, this is something we pitch to them to collaborate with the city on it," says Mienke. "The days leading up to the festival, we are actually going to be hosting a rat walk in Allston Brighton to visit the rat hot spots, and to talk about how we can mitigate some of the rat issues."
Ten artists selected
Meinke and his team are actively accepting applications to be one of the ten artists selected for the project. You can apply through their website. Mary Irvin is hoping to get selected. She lives in the area and produces work out of her apartment.
"I used to live in a garden level unit, and they were just always in my business. New York rats are big and feisty, while ours are smart and conniving. They get a bad rap. The Bubonic Plague didn't help," laughs Irvin. "This is where the artists live and the creatives live. Part of the reason is, it is a little dirty."
Artists will be able to showcase and sell their art at the festival. They also have a program to help fund some local artists.
"If you are an emerging artist in the area, and you need money for flyers, or just to get to a gig, we are providing five $200 grants to artists in the area," tells Meinke.