Art By Bus returns to Roanoke

Roanoke, Virginia – On Thursday morning, Tony Minnick, the Supervisor of Valley Metro, was driving the 2024 Art By Bus program through Roanoke once again.

Supporters on board included Lindsey Smith Hull, a 2024 writer for By Bus, and Ray Kass, an Emeritus Professor of Art at Virginia Tech. Their efforts are included in the 2024 version of the already seven-year-old program.

In 1985, Kass painted “Untitled Abstract,” a rooftop view of downtown Roanoke. Right now, a Valley Metro bus has it posted on its side. “This encounter is distinct. “I had no idea what to anticipate,” Kass remarked in an interview. “During my time as a volunteer curator at the museum, I traveled by bus a lot and learned a lot about Roanoke and its various regions, which many people are unaware of.” Both as a child and as a teenager, Hull took the bus. She rode routes all over the city to start this artistic quest.

She gave a reading on Thursday morning from a collection of poems called “The mountains rumble,” which was written for the project. Hull said to the crowd, “The 91 today is a chatty sort of bus, a how you doin’ bus, a let’s catch up kind of bus.”

She talked about her motivation later. Hull remarked, “And this seemed like a perfect way to get out of my bubble and learn what transit is like in Roanoke now.”

Valley Metro, the Roanoke Arts Commission, and Ride Solutions have partnered to create Art By Bus.

Additionally, supporters of the Art By Bus initiative in Roanoke say they value the improvements it makes to the city’s public transportation system. “We have no requests for the city council today,” Sharon Fritz informed us following the function. “Today is a celebration for the buses!” Pinky Harris continued, “I hope it brings happiness to those that will see it.” “And I am certain that it will.”