Hamilton, Ohio – The Butler County Regional Transit Authority plans a moving tribute to firefighters from around the state.
Literally.
Jennifer Eickelberger’s 2021 StreetSpark design Charge the Line – located on the Hamilton Professional Firefighters union hall – comes off the wall and onto a BCRTA bus during the four-day Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters biennial conference.
BCRTA unveils the newly wrapped bus at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at the hall (204 North Third Avenue, Hamilton Ohio 45011). Eickelberger will be on hand with representatives from BCRTA, StreetSpark, Hamilton Professional Firefighters and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.
“BCRTA is thrilled to honor our heroes in a truly innovative and dynamic way,” said Shawn Cowan, Director of Customer Care and Public Engagement at BCRTA. “Showcasing art on our buses through the StreetSpark art program provides a unique opportunity for all community members to experience and appreciate these inspiring artworks firsthand.”
President Tony Harris of Hamilton’s Professional Firefighters Local 20 said he’s ready for his colleagues around the state to see the bus.
“We are honored to have this StreetSpark mural - that already means so much to us - placed on a BCRTA bus for even more people from all over the City of Hamilton and Butler County to see,' he said. "We cannot thank the organizations involved in this enough. We are so excited to see this unveiled for everyone.”
Conference attendees from all over Ohio get their first look at the mobile mural when they arrive at the union hall for the statewide hospitality event hosted by their Hamilton counterparts at 5 p.m.
The public can see the bus near the RiversEdge Amphitheater later that evening during the firefighter-sponsored Scotty Bratcher concert scheduled for 7 p.m.
“The thin red line represents the courage fire fighters show on a daily basis,” Eickelberg said of her design. “There are 13 stars to represent the 13 firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty for the Hamilton Fire Department.”
“We’re incredibly proud to partner with BCRTA again for a project of this magnitude,” said Ian MacKenzie-Thurley, executive director at the Fitton Center, which oversees the StreetSpark mural program. “We have the utmost respect for our first responders.
“With firefighters from the entire state here for the conference – which is exciting and important for Hamilton in and of itself – we want to help show our appreciation for all they do to help keep us safe every day.”
This is the third collaboration between StreetSpark and the BCRTA in recent years.
In 2021, BCRTA turned a trio of existing murals into wraps for its buses. In 2022, they commissioned original bus-specific wraps by StreetSpark artists resulting in Evan Verilli’s City, Country, City, Amy Deal’s City of Sculpture and Brent Billingsley’s Transportation and the Games We Play.
Founded in 2016 in partnership between the Fitton Center, the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation, StreetSpark furthers the creative identity of the city through exciting murals and public art projects. The program creates engagement by producing high-quality art, providing opportunities for local artists and enhancing the visual appeal of the city.
Since that first summer in 2016, StreetSpark artists designed and painted 19 murals and 17 utility boxes in a variety of styles. StreetSpark recently announced the design for its 2024 project – Tourism Series: Hamilton - slated to begin painting work June 5See all the murals online here or download a map here to visit them in person.
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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