Bus Painting from July 12-17 outside Carver Recreation Center
Bus Unveiling on Friday, July 18th at Pen and McIntire Parks, 11am-3pm.
Opening Reception on Friday August 1st, from 6-8pm at The Bridge

A team of artists and arts educators from the UVA School of Architecture, The Bridge PAI, and Piedmont Council of the Arts are collaborating on a unique public art project for Charlottesville Parks and Recreation. The PCA-coordinated artist team will repaint an everyday yellow school bus, transforming it into an exciting, kid-friendly vehicle that will be used to transport young people to Parks and Recreation programs throughout the year. Following an extensive design phase this spring, the Fun Bus project involves three main components: hands-on workshops with young people, collaborative bus painting, and a celebratory exhibition at the Bridge.

The Fun Bus design reflects the mission of Parks and Recreation in two ways: it weaves together elements of nature and urban life, and it highlights a young person’s unique perspective of the world. The lead designer is Sanda Iliescu, Associate Professor of Architecture and Art at UVA. Iliescu is working closely with local artists John Bylander, Mike Parisi, and Isabella Scott to implement the design, workshops, and painting processes. The project is coordinated by Maggie Guggenheimer of PCA with support from Greg Kelly of The Bridge and Erica Sims of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation.

The design team led hands-on visual art workshops with Parks and Recreation summer campers during the week of June 30th to involve them in the design process. Workshops explored concepts of measurement and geometry, the natural world, and color theory with campers in grades K-12. Community volunteers assisted with the workshops and will continue to contribute to the project throughout the painting process. Project volunteers from UVA School of Architecture, The Bridge, and PCA include: Christy Baker, Kate Daughdrill, Julia Hauser, Tom Hogge, Debbie Ku, Laura Merricks, Kevin Sullivan, and Linda Weinecoff.

Using the campers’ creative ideas as design determinants, the team will finalize the FUN BUS design during the week of July 7th. A central component will be a visual record of the height of each child who participated in a workshop. The children’s heights will span the lowest horizontal zone of the bus design, creating a grass-like field that evokes the natural world. The height design will also refer to young people as integral components of the bus design and function.

The bus painting process will take place from July 12-17 outside Carver Recreation Center at 223 4th Street NW. The core design team will manage the painting process, working with community volunteers and Parks and Rec campers. Visitors from the community are invited to observe the painting process throughout the week. The Fun Bus will be unveiled to the public during Parks and Recreation’s camp “Fun Day” on Friday, July 18th at Pen and McIntire Parks between 11am-3pm.

To mark the completion of the Fun Bus project, The Bridge will host a weekend exhibit and celebration from August 1-3. The First Friday’s exhibit will be held from 6-8pm on Friday August 1st to show drawings, photographs, studies and ephemera from the project. The exhibit will be on display from 12-3pm daily throughout the weekend.

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