RTA News
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004
Transfers of
prose to poetry
RTA offers
riders inspirational thoughts for the daily commute
CLEVELAND -- Thanks to a local arts program
scheduled to roll out this month, commuters riding public transportation will soon
be challenged to view life from a whole new angle -- inside RTA buses and
trains.
The program, entitled Moving Minds: the Verse
and Vision Project, uses interior bus and train cards to display artwork
and poetry developed to inspire others and demonstrate the value of creativity
in our everyday lives.
Nearly a year in the making, Moving Minds
is the result of a collaboration between the American Institute of Graphic Arts
(AIGA) and the Poets’ and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland (PWLGC).
The groups worked together with RTA and the
transit authority’s Citizens Advisory Board to create a program that would
impact transit riders on their commutes to work and school and on trips around
town.
With interior vehicle cards serving as the
medium, 12 pieces have been created by local artists, designers and poets. The
plan is to introduce three pieces each quarter.
To kick off the Moving Minds project, RTA
will host an early-evening reception in front of its main office, 1240 W. Sixth
St., in the Warehouse District, on Thursday, Sept. 9, from 5-7 p.m. All 12
pieces will be displayed, with the artists and poets on hand to present their
work. The event is open to the public.
Poetry and transit systems have an interesting
connection. In 1992, the Poetry Society of America developed pieces for New
York subways and buses as part of the Poetry in Motion program. The
program, whose mission is to promote literacy, has since been adopted by a
number of transit systems across the country. In Cleveland, while poetry has
been utilized at RTA passenger facilities, it has never been a regular feature
in transit vehicles.
RTA’s Citizens Advisory Board, made up of
volunteers from the community who advise RTA trustees on service issues, was
the driving force behind the initiative to bring poetry to Cleveland’s buses
and trains. Vince Reddy from the Board believes the artistic pieces will have a
positive impact the rider’s commute.
“One of
the benefits of taking public transportation is that you have time to do other
things, like reading or preparing for the day ahead,” he explained. “This program offers riders a welcome escape
from newspaper headlines and advertising clutter that fills our lives.”
In addition to enriching the rider’s experience, Moving
Minds offers a canvas for local artists and poets to show off their work.
And Northeast Ohio has no shortage of artistic talent, as Darlene Montonaro
from PWLGC can attest.
“Once all the pieces came together to make this
project a reality, we were overwhelmed by the number of poets from all parts of
the region who were interested in participating,” explained Montonaro.
“A panel of judges had the unenviable task of
whittling down the entries to just 12. Our hope is to make this an annual project
with RTA and continue to tap new artists and poets.”
Background
RTA is the nation’s 13th-largest
public-transit system, serving more than 45 percent of all public-transit
riders in Ohio. Its 2,753 employees operate 108 rail cars on 34 miles of track
and 624 buses on 1,606 route miles. In 2003, more than 53.5 million passengers
rode RTA’s trains, buses, Community Circulators, and Paratransit vehicles.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES
ONLY:
·
Jerry Masek, RTA, 216-566-5211
·
John McCauley, Brokaw, 216-685-4529
