Lexington, KY - Yvette Hurt is pretty straightforward about her nonprofit organization, Art in Motion, Inc., and its mission in Lexington "to sell this idea of artistic bus shelters in the community and to raise funds with partners to help build them," she said.
Hurt's idea to create something cool and unusual with Lexington's drab bus shelters was hatched in 2005. "We put together partners who can get these shelters built. It's purely a public interest project," said Hurt, who has successfully managed to harness the talent and generosity of local artists, sculptors, architects, contractors and lighting experts on what might be called a shoestring budget.
The first artistic shelter, called "Bottle Stop," was built on Versailles Road near the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government campus. The latest one, "Art Stop," is located in the East End neighborhood on the corner of Third Street and Elm Tree Lane, across from the soon to be refurbished Lyric Theater. Both shelters are solar powered.
Money for the East End project came from the Knight Foundation, a neighborhood grant secured by 1st District Councilmember Andrea James through the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and private gifts. The shelter uses a large metal sculpture called "Lyrical Movement" and has five art panels.
When the economy is putting pressure on every business operator to maximize their company's time and staff in order to turn a profit, the donation of time and talent may seem a bit surprising. "Why did we do it? For community involvement. It's a worthwhile cause and I wanted to help out," said Paul Ochenkoski, a vice president at EOP Architects, a regional design firm based in Lexington that specializes in health club, higher education, K-12, research, corporate and civic architecture projects. EOP designed the new $25 million outdoor stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Designing a little bus shelter may seem like small-time work for such a prominent architectural firm, but Ochenkoski doesn't see it that way. "As architects, we have always had an interest in art and the art community, and we enjoy making it part of our repertoire, as part of our work. With all of the buildings we've done, we always try to incorporate some artwork, even if it's out front as a stand-alone sculpture."
Hurt was in a time crunch on the Art Stop bus shelter project because a key community grant was due to expire unless the work could be done in time. She had wanted to hold a design contest but couldn't because of the time constraints. But when approached, EOP said it could design the shelter on a tight schedule.
"And EOP has done it well below cost. I can't say enough good things about them," exclaimed Hurt. "They have been incredibly professional and creative. They brought a whole team together. They designed it (and) oversaw construction, and we got it finished in time to get the funding," said Hurt.
Hurt called Ochenkoski, who grew up in Lexington, a "visionary" who is committed to the community and excited about the idea of artistic bus shelters. Ochenkoski wanted the design to be good, but also affordable for the nonprofit organization. "We like to think we're brought in for our expertise and sensitivity to design in incorporating art into our work. That's what architecture is: art that you walk through. If we see something worthwhile, we'll get into it. We also see that it comes back to us in many ways and gives people an idea of what we can do. It's also a little marketing for us," he explained.
Other cities have dressed up their bus shelters in the name of art. Seattle, for example, had a problem with graffiti at bus stops, making the stops unwanted by neighborhood leaders and nearby business owners.
The city actually worked with the graffiti artists in an effort to turn their work into something constructive in a program called "Street Smart Art." Building walls, fences and sidewalks became part of the colorful shelter designs.
The city of Emeryville, located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco, has a high percentage of artists within its population. It commissioned some of them to create two-dimensional media for four bus shelters while incorporating metal, textiles, sculptures, installation art and other materials based around the selected theme: Flora and Fauna. Other cities may have created artistic bus shelters, but few have been professionally designed and built like Lexington's, said Hurt, who also believes that using local talent is much preferred over taking tax dollars and "sending them out of state for prefabricated bus shelters."
Hurt said the projects were a good outlet for the business community because they enjoyed working on something new and creative and a lot of small business people like giving back to the community. "It's a real local-first" approach, Hurt concluded.