Poetry Bus

There are three poetry buses in circulation through the City of Scottsdale. Life in Motion is the most recent. Everyday Magic and Learning Life's Lessons are the other two buses. The vinyl wrap will stay on the buses for up to four years.

• Poetry on exterior and interior of a city bus by seniors from The New Foundation and Coronado High School. Project facilitated by poet in residence Rita Maria Magdelano and designed in association with Opus Design Group. The bus will service the Scottsdale area.

• A collaborative project of the City of Scottsdale Transportation Department and commissioned through The Scottsdale Public Art Department, in association wit h The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art VISIONS Program, The New Foundation and the Scottsdale Cultural Council.

Process for Life in Motion

Fifteen participants created artwork and poetic expressions during a series of workshops facilitated by poet in residence Rita Maria Magdelano. Together with the Opus Design Group, Magdelano then incorporated the artwork and excerpts of the poetry into the overall design of a vinyl wrap for the exterior of the bus and for interior placards.

Teens speak their mind!

The Scottsdale Public Art Program is grateful to the students of The New Foundation and of Coronado High School who share Everyday Magic poetry bus their personal thoughts with the people of Scottsdale on our special City transit buses.

We consider the Poetry Buses to be traveling landmarks that represents the variety of life lessons shared by everyone who comes in contact with it. They are a point of pride for those who catch a glimpse of them driving down the road, for those who drive beside them in traffic, and for those who ride them.

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Collaborations for creative expression

Since 1985, the Scottsdale Public Art Program has produced more than fifty works around the city, both temporary and permanent. Some of these works include transit shelters on major roadways, the Loloma Transportation Station, and in 1999, the Art Bus. The artist, Sam Mindrum Logan, worked closely with a small group of youths thru the non-profit agency Free Arts of Arizona to create their own inspired artwork. It was then transferred to the bus in the form of a vinyl wrap. Life in Motion is the third poetry bus in what promises to be a long-lasting series of unique public transportation.

The New Foundation
For 30 years, The New Foundation (TNF) has been working with teens and their families. Adolescents, ages 11 through 17, both male and female, enter the programs and services at TNF only after making a commitment to work hard at affecting positive changes in their lives. The New Foundation's unique continuum of care approach provides youth and their families with the ability to move through various levels of care without changing location, care givers or teachers.

The original mission of providing therapy in a home-like atmosphere has grown into a multi-service treatment and educational environment. Over the course of time, TNF has expanded is services and today offers a comprehensive Residential Treatment Program, Therapeutic Group Home, Partial Care Services, Outpatient Services, Education Programs, an innovative Family Diversion Program, the STOP Program (Scottsdale Time Out Project) and a Chemical Dependancy Program to help teens remain sober. TNF also offers a Positive Discipline class and support group for parents.

One of our original collaborators for the art bus, Free Arts of Arizona is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the healing effects of the arts to abused, neglected and homeless children. Volunteers from the community share their creativity in the visual arts, theater, dance, music, creative writing and other art projects with children who live in residential treatment centers, group homes and shelters. Through the creative arts, children build self-esteem and social skills, renew trust with a caring adult, and learn to express emotions in a positive way.