ART 180 Takes the Bus

Local artists hold an important place in any community—and especially our beloved Richmond—and they deserve to be celebrated! In the past few years, the Richmond art community has grown exponentially, from the RVA Street Art Festival to the new Institute for Contemporary Art. We have a lot to be proud of, and much gratitude goes to our local artists for making Richmond such an alive and engaging city. Through murals that uplift neighborhoods and installations that prompt people to think, local artists help create a more vibrant and meaningful place for us to call home.

As we honor our 20th anniversary this year, we’re also honoring the super talented and abundantly generous artists who work with young people through ART 180 programs. Through a partnership with GRTC, we’re launching a summer-long, city-wide campaign to pay tribute to local artists. These compassionate and committed folks ensure that our goal to create change in the lives of young people through art is met. They design projects that let our youth express themselves, they provide guidance through mentoring, and they nurture our young people in finding—and using—their voice.

From June through September, with the help of GRTC, we’re giving 20 artists a platform to display their art on 160 buses throughout the city. These 20 are just a small sample of the hundreds who have designed and led programs for our young people over 20 years. They represent different points on our timeline as well as different art forms, reflecting the uniqueness and diversity of the projects they created for our youth. “ART 180 Takes the Bus” promotes the work of local artists and engages the community in celebrating ART 180’s 20 years of contributions to the creative development of young people.

These artists will be featured inside GRTC buses on channel card displays. Plus, all 20 works of art will be exhibited at our Atlas gallery in Jackson Ward in August, opening August 3 during First Fridays. The work will be for sale, and proceeds will be shared between the artists and ART 180—to keep these programs going for another 20 years! 

Keep a look out for these 20 pieces of art traveling around the city. Who knows, you may be able to win a cool prize in our contest.

Here are the awesome local artists, among the many, that we’re celebrating:

Adriane Dalton

Alexa Buchin

Andrea Ryan

Austin Miles

Byerly Young

Diego Sanchez

Elizabeth Coffey

Hamilton Glass

Heidi Trepanier

Justice Dwight

Lydia Baker

Matt Lively

Mica Rose

Mickael Broth

Robert Cataldo

S. Ross Browne

Sandra Sellars

Steve Hedberg

Sukenya Best 

Todd Hale

 

We Believe in Young People

Each young person is a valuable part of our community. We promise to offer a supportive and nurturing environment, which allows our young people an opportunity to bring into being the beauty that exists within their creative spirits.

We Believe in Creative Expression

Everyone will be free to be an artist who can give birth to a masterpiece, because we recognize that innovation is the heartbeat of growth.

We Believe in Communication

We seek to provoke ideas and stimulate conversation that encourages self-awareness and expression of diverse perspectives, remove barriers of fear, create a better understanding of humanity, and illuminate hope.

We Believe in Compassion

We advocate kindness to heal division and resolve conflicts, because everyone has a right to be heard, to experience love, and to be treated with dignity and mutual respect.

We Believe in Community

We value the importance of collaborative relationships, which celebrate diversity. We recognize that by sharing together we're capable of making even greater creative contributions that can enhance the well-being and quality of life for the whole.

We Believe in Change

We embrace change as a gift that empowers young people to transform our world through creative expression. It provides opportunities to be passionately engaged in a natural process of learning, challenging complacency and discovering opportunities to live a meaningful life.