Archives

Destination Crenshaw / Heart of Hyde Park

Rendering of Destination Crenshaw. People stand and sit, platform space overlooks street, horizon of palm trees is visible in the background.

A community-led project aims to help local residents see themselves in new infrastructure and introduce visitors to the local Black neighborhood history in Hyde Park, Los Angeles. The challenge Hyde Park, one of the oldest communities in Los Angeles, is a working-class neighborhood with relatively low levels of college education and many single parent households […]

Public Art in Seattle

Image of an artist painting a mural on the Red Wall surrounding the Link Capitol Hill Station in Seattle, WA.

Seattle was one of the first cities in the country to pass a public arts ordinance (in 1973) and to make one percent of the budget for any eligible capital project available for the commission, purchase and installation of artworks in a variety of settings. Now, artists not only develop public art plans, but also […]

En Route

Photo of the Atlanta, Georgia skyline

Not a typical mural project, En Route, a project between the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Fulton County Arts & Culture, and The TransFormation Alliance, and led by the arts organization WonderRoot, presented a series of community conversations that led to the development of murals at four MARTA stations across Atlanta. Over a 12-month […]

Oakland BRT

Image of a person sitting on a bus looking out the window mid song. To the person's left are three empty bus seats. Behind the seats is a window.

When a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system was being planned in Oakland, California, a local nonprofit helped deepen community outreach and employed young people to create a music video advocating for its need in the area.  The challenge In the San Francisco Bay Area, agencies are actively planning six BRT projects: Santa Clara-Alum Rock, […]

TRAVELS FAR: MTA COVID Memorial

Image of a screenshot from a video created by MTA. The white text on the black background reads, "TRAVELS FAR" and then underneath, "A Memorial Honoring Our Colleagues Lost to COVID-19." There a number of bright red, purple, green, blue, yellow, and orange horizontal lines around the words.

Portraits of MTA workers who have died from COVID are displayed on screens that normally show maps and service changes, along with a newly commissioned poem, “Travels Far” by the U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. The challenge The Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City is the largest public transportation agency in North America […]

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response – West Central Initiative

Artist and volunteer use stencils to spray paint green animal footprints on a street.

As part of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response initiative, West Central Initiative (WCI), a rural regional planning agency in west central Minnesota, worked with artist Naomi RaMona Schliesman to come up with creative, safe ways to engage the community during COVID-19 and better inform their Safe Routes to School planning. Schliesman designed a versatile […]

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response – City of Detroit

Image of teal and white sign attached to fence that features the Detroit logo and directs people to Lasky Recreation Center.

As part of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response initiative, the City of Detroit worked with Detroit-based designer Ndubisi Okoye to help bridge the first- and last-mile gaps between bus stops and the city’s recreation centers that are providing crucial resources during COVID-19. Okoye designed a set of welcoming, colorful wayfinding signage to guide residents […]

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response – Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada

Image of a person standing in front of a sign on an exterior wall of Bonneville Transit Center which reads "A wave is as good as a smile."

As part of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response initiative, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada worked with artist Ashley Hairston Doughty and public art consultant Mark Salinas to design signage that would effectively educate the public about social distancing and safe transit riding practices at their main transit hub, the Bonneville Transit Center. […]

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response – Bay Area Rapid Transit

Image of person installing a pink poster featuring an image of a wooden cultural mask onto the side of a train car.

As part of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response initiative, Bay Area Rapid Transit worked with artist Tosha Stimage to pilot an approach to normalize the culture of wearing a mask on transit and deconstruct the racism worsened by COVID-19. Stimage designed and implemented a campaign consisting of popups, posters, and video montage that encouraged […]

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response – City of Oakland

Image of planter barricades that are bright yellow and feature the words “GROW” and stenciled images of small children wearing masks and holding hands. In the background of the photo, people listen to a speaker.

As part of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response initiative, the City of Oakland worked with artist Jonathan Brumfield to pilot a solution for more aesthetically pleasing, sturdy Oakland Slow Streets barricades that better reflect East Oakland culture and still support safe distancing while traveling and exercising during the pandemic. Brumfield, in partnership with East […]