About Art in Transit
Local artists have a new vehicle to express their creativity—city buses to be exact. Tulsa Transit and AcrobatAnt, a local advertising agency, have teamed up to spotlight creativity and boost ridership with their Art in Transit contest. Art in Transit promotes art and artists of all types by making their creations moving, working parts of the urban environment. Putting art in unexpected places, like buses, is a great way to beautify Tulsa’s landscape and display our city’s artistic horsepower.
Out of nearly 100 entries, judges unanimously agreed that my submission was the clear winner. The salute to Woody Guthrie honors Oklahoma’s most influential folk singer, songwriter and activist. As the grand prize winner, my design will be proudly displayed on a Tulsa Transit bus in 2014, where it will receive more than four million impressions across the region by being displayed for a full year.
This Land Bus Design
My grand prize winning design, titled “This Land,” was created from the idea of discovering Oklahoma’s history. The folk music of Oklahoma-native Woody Guthrie and, more specifically, his 1940 political song “This Land Is Your Land,” seemed the best way to describe my feelings toward my own hometown. Oklahoma has a rich past told through the blood, sweat and tears of real American heroes and villains. My hope is that these works will inspire Tulsa residents as they travel through our city, see its historical destinations and experience the weight of their ever-present influence.