Community Arts Project on Bus Tickets

Travel West Midlands supported a community arts project recently entitled ’Just The Ticket’ - and the results were truly spectacular!Local community arts group, HamFisted!, set up by Benny Semp and Johnny O’Hanlon based in Erdington, approached the Company with an idea of working with 8-12 year olds in schools and youth groups exploring the ways they use bus travel and public transport through games, discussions, role play and art. The activities culminated in each of the groups creating a large picture using print and collage techniques - the images were then reproduced in miniature and printed on the back of bus tickets. HamFisted! secured assistance from Awards for All (Lottery Grants for Local Groups) and ’artsites Birmingham’ to fund part of the project.Travel West Midlands agreed to provide one month’s supply of ticket backs (10,000 rolls equals 1.8 million tickets) across the Birmingham region and paid for production of the tickets which cost £1,000. The images are being displayed on tickets throughout August 2002.Dave Watkin, Travel West Midlands’ Head of Marketing, said: "We were keen to get involved in such a diverse and unusual project involving 16 local schools and youth groups in the West Midlands. The idea of getting kids to think about and explore the idea of travelling by bus created some great visual pictures which are now on display on bus tickets."The following groups took part in the project: Wychall Primary School, Sutton Coldfield YMCA, New Oscott Junior School, Hawkesley Church Primary School, the Astral Centre, Castle Vale, Twickenham Junior Infants School, Perry Common Junior Infants School, Broadmeadow Junior School, Ward End Primary School, Sundridge Junior Infants School, Kingsthorne Junior Infants School, Colmers Farm Junior Infants School, Hawthorn Junior Infants School, the Mere Green Centre and Gilberstone Primary School.

Published 7th August 2002