Newport Transport has commissioned Welsh street artist Tee2Sugars to paint a member of its bus fleet into a scheme that honours local art, key figures and history in the city.
Christened Our Bus, the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 includes depictions on the nearside of Margaret Haig Thomas, or Lady Rhondda, and Newport Transport history. On the offside the Chartist movement is featured. On the rear is the cherub that forms part of the emblem of the city of Newport, along with Our Bus branding.
Lady Rhondda was an activist, businesswoman and suffragette. She was key to progressing women’s rights in the early 20th century and is one of the reasons why women of today can sit in the House of Lords. Chartism was the first mass movement driven by the working classes, which was the first step in giving those individuals political experience in campaigning, organising publicity, and holding meetings.
Newport Transport Managing Director Scott Pearson says that the decision to depict “two strong movements that represent the advances to our society made in Newport” was based upon both the operator’s part of city life for over a century, and the increasing relevance of public transport to the quest to fight climate change.
“Newport Transport is an integral part of the community in Newport, and we wanted to promote the good of its community. The bus is ‘Our Bus’, meaning everyone’s bus service,” adds Mr Pearson.
Artist Tee2Sugars notes that the work is “to celebrate the people of Newport,” adding that working with the operator has been enjoyable.
“It was great to tie Lady Rhondda and the Chartist Movement into one piece on a bus. I love that this piece of artwork isn’t just on a wall somewhere, but it is moving in and around the city for all to see, giving the artwork back to the people.”
In 2021, Tee2Sugars applied murals to the public-facing part of the Newport Transport depot in Corporation Road, although in contrast to the Enviro400 work showcasing the history of the city, those paintings depict examples of the operator’s zero-emission bus fleet that will grow further in 2023.
A video of the painting of the bus has been uploaded to Tee2Sugars’ YouTube channel.
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