Ribbon cutting, reception at BareWolf Brewing set for June 10 in Amesbury
If you live, work or spend any time in the Merrimack Valley, you’ve likely ridden or at least noticed a Merrimack Valley Transit (MeVa) bus driving along the region’s main streets.
The buses themselves look like works of art, painted in bright, beautiful hues of orange, yellow and blue – designed to reflect the diversity, vibrancy and forward-thinking spirit of the area.
Now, thanks to MVCulture, a project two years in the making, passengers won’t just be riding in works of art. A MeVa bus ride means a whole new arts and culture experience. It includes free ad space on buses for local artists and arts and culture organizations; artist-created cultural maps and guides for riders, and public art that turns 22 MeVa bus shelters in Lawrence, Haverhill and Amesbury into places for learning, conversation and connection to the natural world.
The culmination of the project will be celebrated on June 10 in Amesbury with a ribbon cutting with Mayor Kassandra Gove at 4pm at the bus shelter located at 54 Friend Street, newly adorned with a vivid red cardinal mural. The ribbon cutting will be followed by a reception down the street at BareWolf Brewing that runs until 6pm.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this work that’s for the community, with the community,” said Merrimack Valley Arts and Culture Specialist Jenny Arndt, whose position is embedded with the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC). “This has been a labor of love for all involved and we’re so excited for the connections that MVCulture will help create across the Valley.”
Arndt’s been in her position since 2023, when Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) – through its Creative County Initiative (CCI) – joined forces with MVPC to hire her to develop positive connections across the arts, cultural, municipal and business sectors of the 15 communities MVPC serves. A 2024 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant – $125,000 over two years – brought MeVa into the fold.
“Transportation is about far more than getting from point A to point B — it’s about creating opportunity, connection and belonging for everyone in the communities we serve,” said MeVa Development Director Christina Minicucci. “Through this partnership, we’re helping ensure that access to arts, culture and the Merrimack Valley’s incredible green and blue spaces is not limited by geography or income.”
Anchored by the Merrimack River and centered on the gateway cities of Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen, MeVa carries 3.4 million passengers each year along two dozen fare-free routes that take people all over the Valley, connecting riders to their homes, jobs, local shopping centers and schools.
“We want MeVa riders to explore new places that connect them to their communities and neighbors,” said Karen Ristuben, program director for CCI, ECCF’s initiative to elevate and strengthen arts and culture in Essex County, where much of the Merrimack Valley is located. “The idea here is to remind people that there is art, culture and nature to explore along the routes they travel every day, while lifting up local artists and organizations that make the Merrimack Valley so vibrant and unique. It’s a win-win kind of situation.”
At the June 10 celebration in Amesbury, attendees can expect to hear from Ristuben and Minicucci; ECCF’s President and CEO Stratton Lloyd and MVPC Executive Director Jerrard Whitten. Graphic artist Kate Delaney, who designed the new arts and culture transit map, and Jenn Houle, a local muralist known for her work connecting art and conservation, will also speak.
Delaney’s map highlights landmarks that invite riders to explore something new on their usual commutes, or on routes they haven’t traveled before.
The murals that Houle has created for the MeVa bus shelters – a project she has dubbed “Birds + Bugs by Bus” – include vivid depictions of birds, butterflies and native plant species, with fun info graphics that share information about the local environment, and markers for local green spaces where riders might get a glimpse of the natural wonders that exist right in their own back yards.
“Conservation starts with noticing,” said Houle. “I want it to start with that sense of curiosity and wonder that I feel about the natural world. I’m trying to share that feeling and get people to put themselves in that position, to feel that sense of wonder and connection.”
So far, it’s working. On a recent spring day, as Houle was finishing the installation of a monarch butterfly at the bus shelter outside Heritage Towers, a senior housing development in Amesbury, three women emerged from their building to tell Houle how much they enjoyed her work. A few days later, the women were spotted at the bus shelter again, not to wait for a bus, but to enjoy the art, the fresh air and the company.
For more information on MVCulture and cultural planning in the Merrimack Valley,
visit www.mvpc.org/cultural-planning/.
To learn more about Creative County, ECCF’s initiative to strengthen arts and culture in Essex County, visit www.eccf.org/arts-and-culture/.
Check out MeVa bus routes and learn more about the Merrimack Valley’s Regional Transit Authority at www.mevatransit.com.
