Nashville has a brand new bus on fleet and it comes with joy.
The ‘Joy Bus’ was designed and created with the intention to bring more joy to the community using visual art and poetry to enhance the riders experience.
Jason Minser, Director of Marketing, Nashville MTA says, “Nashville MTA is about inspiring moments of connectivity and joy. This is the essence of Arts N Motion and Beth’s Joy Bus, literally and figuratively, embodies why we do what we do.”
HOW IT STARTED
I was sitting with Ashley Segroves, owner of the Studio 208, talking about Nashville MTA’s initiatives in the community to combine art and transit. Two buses had already been wrapped with art and Ashley had a grand idea that I could have my work on the third. She was right.
It was weeks when had a meeting with Jason Minser at the Studio 208 where I hung my painting, Pure Joy, that inspired the design. We pitched Jason the idea for the Joy Bus and he loved it! We were officially on schedule to release the bus in June.
THE DESIGN
The design was inspired by my painting, Pure Joy, because the work was created with the intention of joy. I wanted the energy I felt creating the work to transfer to the audience looking at the work. The colorful brushstrokes dance around the side of the bus in the same way I danced in the studio to music while painting. Joy is embedded in this creation.
For months I rode the bus and studied how I experienced it inside and out. I knew that if I covered the entire bus with color that it wouldn’t translate to the eye, especially in motion. So I purposefully created space in the design to allow the eye to see it without overwhelm.
The work was professionally photographed and stitched together to use in a Photoshop template from the vendor. I mirrored the image on the side, front, and back of the bus to symbolize that we’re all mirrors too. We can express joy and in return inspire others to receive joy.
Inside the bus riders will find short poems and quotes that intend to connect people to joy. If joy is something you must seek and find, then these messages are perfectly positioned to be discovered in a way that will delight and surprise the rider.
The ceiling of the bus features a design intended to create a dome-like shape above the riders’ heads. I wanted people to feel tucked away and safe, surrounded by color, and loving intention.
To create this I had to work within the specifications of the job. I designed the ceiling vinyl with one company and created the cards on the sides with another, and the installation process was like piecing together a puzzle.
TAKE A JOY RIDE
Now it’s time for a joy ride! Everyday the Joy Bus has a different destination, reaching communities all over Nashville, so you can ride it anytime.
Join us for the Joy For All Joy Ride, the official launch party for the Joy Bus. The event will be held at the Studio 208 with an exhibition featuring my work, including Pure Joy.
We’ll host an artist talk and take a joy ride on the Joy Bus immediately following.
NEWS AND MEDIA
Read stories, watch videos, learn more about what’s happening with the #joybusnashville movement to create joy. Watch us on News Channel 4 and on YouTube to learn more about my mission to create more joy in the world.
