Art by Bus promotes the regional fixed-route transit service, Valley Metro, through partnerships with artists and art and culture organizations. By bringing art, music, and literature onto the bus, RIDE Solutions, a program of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, worked to raise the profile of Valley Metro, initiated a conversation in the community about transit’s role in the region’s quality of life, and surprise loyal riders with great experiences. This occurs through a three-pronged approach with support from the Roanoke Arts Commission. Three works from Roanoke, Virginia’s public art collection were reproduced as large panels and installed on the outside of three different buses, bringing art into the neighborhoods. Four musicians held unannounced, short musical performances on the Start Line Trolley at various times over a two-month period. Ride Solutions commissioned a local poet to ride the bus for a month and compose a series of poems based on her experience, with the poems published online, in print, and in a series of readings, including one held at a bus station in fall 2015.
This initiative received a 2015 NADO Innovation Award. For more information, contact:
Jeremy Holmes | Director of Alternative Transportation Programs | [email protected]
Wayne Strickland | Executive Director | [email protected]
Roanoke, VA | 540.342.9393 | www.rvarc.org | www.ridesolutions.org/artbybus
