Moov-in’ Moo-seum, in collaboration with Aggie Arts, Unitrans and Secret Spot, hosted an event for students to make hanging art for the buses
By MEGAN PUSL— campus@theaggie.org
A museum on wheels? At UC Davis, that means student art, buses and a tribute to our favorite animal, the cow. On Saturday, March 3, the Moov-in’ Moo-seum made its way into Downtown Davis for an art event at local art lounge Secret Spot.
The ASUCD Moov-in’ Moo-seum is a new art program that brings art to public transit at UC Davis. The program is a collaboration between Unitrans, Creative Media and Aggie Arts.
Jonah Messinger, a third-year food science major and project director for the ASUCD Moov-in’ Moo-seum, shared his excitement about the program.
“The new art program is bringing art to public transit in Davis,” Messinger said. “We started with the Moo-seum bus, which is the wrapped colorful bus, [and] instead of ads, there is art inside the bus.”
On March 3, students gathered at Secret Spot to create their own artwork to be displayed inside all Unitrans buses. In the backyard of Secret Spot, students painted the art hangers while others performed in the open jam session.
Messinger explained what the event is all about as it turns everyday bus rides into mini art galleries.
“[The art hangers] are going to go inside all of the buses in Unitrans,” Messinger said. “They hang from the handrails and are going to start popping up in all the buses. Today we have art supplies and blank hangers so people can create these, and we are going to install [them] throughout all the buses.”
Secret Spot, located at 117 D St. in Downtown Davis, acted as the venue for this art event. The lounge has showcased over 100 different local artists and hosts a variety of classes and events at their location.
Toni Rizzo, co-owner of Secret Spot, explained how this collaboration came to be.
“[Moov-in’ Moo-seum] reached out to us on Instagram, basically looking for venues for this awesome project that they are doing, and it kinda seemed like the perfect fit,” Rizzo said. “We are an arts and music lounge and this is the type of stuff that we do.”
Aggie Arts Committee Co-Chair Siomara Sanchez, spoke of the joy that the Moov-in’ Moo-seum brings to the community and said that she wants to continue to spread that creative spirit through public transportation.
“It’s been really great having the opportunity to involve the community as a whole through the Moo-vin’ Moo-seum,” Sanchez said. “We are trying different ways to engage with the city and the students, and seeing the results has been really exciting. This initial launch year has let us get a good idea on what’s been working and what hasn’t. We are really excited to keep bringing art to everyone in different ways while hopefully making public transport more fun.”
Messinger expressed that he hoped the Moov-in’ Moo-seum art event would get students involved with the art program on campus and introduce students to places like Secret Spot.
“The idea with these hangers is it brightens people’s commutes,” Messinger said. “With this event in particular, I hope it brings people together and forces [people] to recognize a lot of the art spaces that exist here in Davis.”
Anyone can ride the Unitrans Moov-in’ Moo-seum bus around Davis, as it operates on standard Unitrans bus routes. Keep an eye out for the vibrant exterior as it cruises through Davis to transport students to campus, downtown and beyond.
The next Moov-in’ Moo-seum project on Unitrans buses will be a collage of student memories in Davis. Anyone who has memories, past or present, in Davis is encouraged to submit photos that will be displayed inside of the buses. Visit the Moov-in’ Moo-seum website to submit photos by March 21.
Written by: Megan Pusl — campus@theaggie.org
