May 9, 2024
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) and Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) collaborated to create artistic panels for the bus shelters located on Euclid Avenue at Stearns Road and Stokes Boulevard in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood.
The project’s theme was derived from GCRTA’s current media campaign, “Let’s Go Together,” and was developed through discussions between GCRTA Marketing and a class of more than 40 first-year students at CIA.
"Our collaborative goal was for CIA students to create designs that showcase the diverse aspects of public transportation offered by GCRTA, and to depict how they incorporate it into their daily routines,” explained Sharon Jenkins, GCRTA’s Marketing Director. “I'm truly impressed by the artwork produced by the CIA students."
Students learned valuable lessons about understanding the real-world mission of an organization like GCRTA and the constraints community partners sometimes face. In addition, students learned the basics of making art in the public realm, where they must balance creativity with function.
“An opportunity like this helps prepare our students for real-world projects,” said CIA associate professor Steven Gutierrez, who taught the class. “Students learned critical issues that professionals must deal with when creating artwork that is community-facing. In return, the students are proud of their community investment to make riding the RTA that much more enjoyable.”
The bus shelters artwork was installed during the week of April 29th and can be seen by riders on GCRTA’s HealthLine. GCRTA is able to apply custom art to bus shelter glass with an adhesive vinyl wrap that creates a visually enhanced transit waiting environment for riders.
This collaboration marks the second time in recent years that CIA and GCRTA have teamed up. In 2021, a class of CIA first-year students designed holiday-themed posters that were installed above the seats on GCRTA's popular Holiday Trolley.