The People’s Bus and Festival

The People's Bus was formerly used to transport people detained on Rikers Island from 2009 to 2021. It has been transformed - with input from New Yorkers - into a community center on wheels, with the purpose of engaging people in NYC’s civic life through beauty and joy.

This project was conceived by The Civic Engagement Commission and the People’s Fellows is the CEC’s youth leadership program made up of a group of 14-20-year-olds who co-led this process of transformation.

The noteworthy beaded mural on the ceiling is a collaboration between Mujeres en Movimiento and local community members, based on the drawings from “We Color Our Future” done by residents during the rank choice voting tour of The People’s Bus. The women of Mujeres en Movimiento like to say that there are 8.8 million recycled beads, one for each resident of New York City.

Territorial Empathy, led the architectural transformation of the People’s Bus inspired by an intersectional engagement process with the People’s Fellows. The intent was to create an adaptive, sustainable, and inclusive space that suspends the disbelief of its former oppressive state. The “Rainbow Chrome” exterior finish is an homage to NYC’s first artist-in-residence, Mierle Ukeles Laderman, who, in 1983, created a mirrored garbage truck titled “The Social Mirror.”

The site selection process for the People's Bus Festival, the resulting five borough presentation of the bus to the public was based on Territorial Empathy's research, Segregation is Killing Us. Neighborhoods most affected by COVID-19 were prioritized for the festival. The People's Bus features a 6' LED Map of NYC that highlights urban inequities exacerbated by the pandemic. This digital exhibit was developed in partnership with the Illuminate Cities Project.