Stories
January 22, 2025Made You Look Tabling Events
As we expand the Made You Look program to Prince George’s County, we think back to bringing art to the community through some of our favorite tabling events.
A Play on Pike featured a temporary art installation supported by the Marlboro Pike Partnership CDC and the City of District Heights.
The program is transforming our thinking about traffic safety and community design. By turning ordinary crosswalks and intersections into bold, beautiful works of art, this initiative combines creative placemaking with a vital purpose: traffic calming and safer streets for everyone.
Why it Matters
These eye-catching designs encourage drivers to slow down and pay attention, making streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and families. They also empower communities to creatively and effectively address traffic concerns.
Art in the Right of Way Toolkit
NDC hosts the The Made You Look Toolkit, a step-by-step guide that shows how to accomplish this interventions in a quick and affordable way. Now, communities can learn how to secure funding and permits, engage their neighbors, choose a design, and select supplies.
In one Baltimore neighborhood, only 20 percent of drivers yielded to pedestrians in the crosswalk prior to installing art. After the installation, that number increased to 75 percent. These relatively easy projects have big impact.
How can your community use this?
Programs like Made You Look prove that public art goes beyond beauty—it’s a powerful way to reimagine spaces, improve safety, and bring neighbors together. These interventions are affordable, easy to get permits for, and quick to install. Any community can create one! Learn how at madeyoulookbaltimore.org.