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https://raleighnc.gov/arts/services/public-art-bus-shelters
12/21/2023 4:22 pm

Bus shelter wrapped in art by Kiara Sanders titled "Nina, a Monk, and a Trane". Located at Pecan Road at S. Saunders St.

Public Art on Bus Shelters

Use this toolkit to add public art to bus shelters!

Updated: Dec 21, 2023

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Things to Consider Examples Request Process & Approval Timeline Submit Your Request

Image Above: Nina, a Monk, and a Trane, Kiara Sanders, vinyl-wrapped bus shelter, located at Pecan Rd. at S. Saunders St.

Things to Consider

Location

  • Consider contacting surrounding property owners. Letting community members know about your project will help build support and create a successful project
  • If you have a specific bus shelter in mind, let us know on your request form and include the intersection closest to the bus shelter and a screenshot of its location on Google Maps.

Cost

  • Typically vinyl installers charge $1000 to $1500 to print and install a vinyl artwork on a bus shelter  
  • Artists who are hired by an organization typically receive a stipend of $500-$1000 for their artwork 
  • This type of project does not include funding from Raleigh Arts. Check out other funding opportunities

Design 

  • The artwork must be applied as a vinyl wrap
  • Avoid words or shapes that look like road signs (arrows, red octagons, etc.) 
  • Artwork must include the artist's credit. Crediting guidelines for temporary art in public spaces include:
    • Hashtags and artist signatures are allowed
    • No more than two hashtags are allowed
    • No logos are allowed
    • Hashtags and artist signatures should be sized so they are less than or equal to 2% of the painting surface. For smaller artworks, the artist can choose to use up to 2” x 24” instead to retain legibility. The artist has the digression to make the hashtag/signature smaller if they choose
  • Confirm the type and layout of the design file needed by the vinyl installer 

Opacity

  • The design should be viewable from both inside and outside of the shelter. This requires either: 
    • A single-color design that relies on a silhouette
    • Or a printer who can print a layer of transparent color sandwiched between a gradient transparent layer of white ink and another layer of transparent printed color. Raleigh Arts staff can recommend printers with this technical capability.  
  • The images will be viewable from in front of or behind the shelters. Keep in mind that any text will appear reversed when viewed from behind the shelter. 
A diagram shows how the panels of a bus shelter can be covered with art
  • Artwork can be completely opaque on the bottom portion of the shelter but must allow visibility at the top, as seen in the diagram above. Do this by creating a 30% transparency gradient at the top of the shelter or leaving areas of the design clear. 
  • The two panels facing on-coming traffic must be clear to allow passengers to see the bus approaching.

Examples

Artwork wrapped on bus shelter windows titled Seasons of Change and Hope: Shredding the Old and Growing the New
 by Joyce Watkins King
 located at Poole Road at Rawls Drive

Seasons of Change and Hope: Shredding the Old and Growing the New

Joyce Watkins King

Poole Road at Rawls Drive

Artwork wrapped on bus shelter windows titled All Colors Welcome by 
David Johnson located at 
Kent Road at Warwick Drive

All Colors Welcome

David Johnson

Kent Road at Warwick Drive

Artwork wrapped on bus shelter windows titled Flowering Dogwood, Sweet Potato, Venus flytrap by 
Colin Keenan & Julie Cook located 
Glenbrook Drive at Dacian Road (southbound)

Flowering Dogwood, Sweet Potato, Venus Flytrap

Colin Keenan & Julie Cook

Glenbrook Drive at Dacian Road (southbound)

A bus shelter wrapped in artwork by Joel Peter Johnson

The Encompassing Flow

Joel Peter Johnson

Capital Boulevard at Fenton Street

Request Process & Approval Timeline

StepDescriptionTime Period
Request

You will need to provide the following on the request form:

  • Your contact information
  • The name of the artist creating the artwork *
  • Samples of previous artwork and a written or visual proposal
  • A proposed location if you have one *
  • A proposed project timeline
  • A summary of the project
  • The estimated project cost and its funding sources
  • A list of project partners, if any
  • The level of City involvement needed (help with finding a location, artist selection, permitting, etc.)
  • Acknowledgment that you have read the Community-Initiated Public Art Projects Policy

* If you don't have a location or artist selected, please email Jenn Hales at jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov for guidance.

Download request form

 

Request your project today!
Review

Your project with go through a three-step review process:

  1. The Arts, Education, and Collections Committee (AEC) will review your project and either approve, deny, or approve with a request for changes. This committee meets on the first Thursday of each month.
  2. After approval from AEC, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission (CORAC) will review your project and either approve, deny, or approve with a request for changes. The commission meets on the third Tuesday of each month. 
  3. The Raleigh Transit Authority Marketing Committee will review the location and either approve, deny or approve with a request for changes.  

Once approved, Raleigh Arts Staff will notify you. Please email Jenn Hales at jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov with questions about your project's review progress.

 

1 - 3 months, not including permitting and contract process
Permitting & Permissions

Raleigh Arts can help guide you through the permitting process. 

  • Bus shelters will require a signed agreement. The artist, sponsor organization, or artwork installer will need to: 
    • Register as a vendor with the city 
    • Review and sign the agreement 
    • Provide a certificate of insurance with the City of Raleigh named as an additional insured. (A qualified vinyl installer should already have a certificate of insurance). 
  • Depending on the location, you may need a sidewalk closure permit while the artwork is installed

Please email Jenn Hales at jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov with questions about signed agreements and insurance.  

 

1 - 3 months
Installation
  • Please email Jenn Hales at jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov at least 2 weeks in advance with your installation date 
  • Installation must be performed by a professional vinyl installer who carries insurance
  • Artwork must include the artist's credit. Crediting guidelines for temporary art in public spaces include:
    • Hashtags and artist signatures are allowed
    • No more than two hashtags are allowed
    • No logos are allowed
    • Hashtags and artist signatures should be sized so they are less than or equal to 2% of the painting surface. For smaller artworks, the artist can choose to use up to 2” x 24” instead to retain legibility. The artist has the digression to make the hashtag/signature smaller if they choose
  • Provide photographs and social media details to Jenn Hales so Raleigh Arts can celebrate and promote the project

 

After the project is approved, the contract is signed, and permits are secured, choose the installation date.

Submit Your Request

Follow the steps below to submit a request for public art on a bus shelter:

  1. Review the above information and gather all necessary materials, including how the project will be funded.  This type of project does not include funding from Raleigh Arts. Check out other funding opportunities.
  2. Confirm the project design meets opacity requirements
  3. Email a request form several months before your proposed completion date to Jenn Hales at jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov.

Related Links

 

Do-It-Yourself Public Art Projects

Raleigh Arts

Together Raleigh Bus Shelter Program

Transportation Field Services

Artist Calls

Public Art

Contact

 

Jenn Hales
Public Art Coordinator
jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov

Back to Arts
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Department:
Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Service Categories:
Raleigh Arts
Board, Commission or Committee:
Arts Commission

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