The medium for the project is bottlecaps and lids! Without the intervention of litter cleanups and collection, these bottlecaps and lids would be placed in landfills or get washed into our waterways as trash becoming waterway pollution. Mill Mountain Zoo has partnered with Clean Valley Council and Roanoke City Public Schools to transform trash into treasure.

“Repurposing trash into accessible art illustrates how overrun by plastic trash we all are. To see something like this transformed into a beautiful piece of artwork is the best way to communicate the scourge of plastic in our environment,” says Courtney Taylor of Mill Mountain Zoo.  

This innovative project is made possible by generous funding from the Roanoke Arts Commission.

“For seven years, this project has been keeping litter out of the waterways and landfill with support from the Roanoke Arts Commission and creativity of local artists. We wanted this program to grow from using trash to create sculpture to a program using bottlecap trash for mosaics,” says Courtney Plaster of Clean Valley Council.

We ask that the dimensions of the piece be a minimum of3’x3’ and a maximum of 10’x7’ and of a wildlife conservation theme that would seamlessly fit into the aesthetic of the Zoo. The mural must also be able to be transported up to Mill Mountain Zoo.

Mosaics must be mobile, durable, and weather sealed with epoxy resin, as the mosaic will be displayed outdoors permanently and must be able to withstand all weather during all seasons. Mosaic pieces must also be able to be moved between different locations throughout Mill Mountain Zoo throughout the year.

Selected artists will receive a stipend for materials.  

To be considered for this project, artists must submit a brief description of how the mosaic will be constructed and weather sealed by Friday, 16 February 2024, along with a sketch or sketches of the concept.  Please send proposals to:

Mill Mountain Zoo

c/o Courtney Taylor

PO Box 8159

Roanoke, VA 24014

For more information, contact Courtney Taylor via phone at (540) 343-3241x2 or email at courtney@mmzoo.org.

Submissions can also be dropped off at Mill Mountain Zoo.

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