Throughout 2025, more than 50 local artists made small circular pieces of art that fit into the empty coin vaults of downtown Eugene parking meters. The Parking Meter Art Repair Project was started by Jud Turner and Robert Bolman.
The city is now beginning to install new meters with a different design, and the existing art pieces won’t fit anymore. Turner decided to open up his gallery to display as many of the works as possible.
Turner said he always knew the project would be temporary. When he got wind that the new meters were going up, he and the other artists wanted to preserve as many of the pieces as possible.
Turner and Bolman decided early in the process that they would not seek permission from the city. They specifically installed the artworks by screwing them into holes already present for the coin vaults. This made the artworks removable and didn’t cause any damage to the parking meters.
When giving artists the blank discs to create artwork on, Turner told them to keep the works from protruding into the pedestrian space on the sidewalks. He said the city removed works they deemed unsafe but left the majority of the artwork up for the community to enjoy.
“In my mind, this project is the largest illegal group art show in the history of Eugene,” said Turner. “It's really cool in that way, and it brought a lot of people into the fold of making public art.”
Now, all of the works are coming together into a formal exhibit at The Oblivion Gallery.
Turner said he’s excited to host a group exhibition bringing these pieces together after they were spread across downtown.
“This is the first chance for people to see them all together, as many as we were able to recover, over 200 of them, all in one place,” said Turner.
The other aspect of the gallery is that almost all of the pieces will be for sale for $30 each.
Turner said the proceeds from the sale are going to be split between the artist, the gallery and to support the Art Hop. The West Eugene Warehouse District Art Hop is a monthly open studio tour that The Oblivion Gallery participates in.
Turner said he is eager to get funds to keep the Art Hop going, and to offer the artworks at an affordable price.
The parking meter art exhibit opens Saturday, Oct. 3 at The Oblivion Gallery, 3925 Cross St. in Eugene. The exhibit will run through the end of November.
