Artists from around Napa Valley and across Northern California are invited to design a rolling work of art on one of Vine Transit’s new electric buses. In this competitive contest, entries should celebrate zero-emission transportation and/or Napa County, and will be reviewed by a panel of local judges. The artist who creates the winning design will earn a $5,000 stipend, with $1,500 awarded to the runner up.
Known as a bus wrap, artists are asked to develop an original design that will cover a 40-foot Gillig electric bus, one of 14 new zero-emission buses set to arrive in Napa County in 2025. The wrap includes all sides of the bus, from hood to bumper (excluding only the front windshield, mirrors and vehicle lights). Graphic design, photography, or watercolor — artists are free to work in any medium.
“Think of the entire bus as your canvas,” said Vine Transit Manager Rebecca Schenck. “This is meant to be a celebration of sustainable transit in Napa County. We look forward to seeing a wide range of artistic inspirations.”
To begin, artists are asked to submit a portfolio of their existing work that showcases their artistic style and abilities (up to 10 images), along with a brief description of each piece. Judges will review the portfolios and select up to three finalists. Each finalist will receive $750 to cover the cost of materials to create a preliminary bus wrap design based on the project theme, working from an exact rendering of the Vine Transit bus. From those preliminary designs, a winner will be chosen to finalize their piece for installation, and earn the $5,000 prize.
Vine Transit Bus Wrap Contest Timeline
- Artist Portfolios due: Jan. 31, 2025
- Finalists Announced: Feb. 15, 2025
- Preliminary Bus Wrap Designs due: March 28, 2025
- Winner Announced: April 14, 2025
Vine Transit will receive 14 new electric buses funded by a $14.8 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. With a goal to have a fully zero-emission fleet by 2040, Vine Transit is working to keep the air clean in Napa County. Each zero-emission bus will reduce carbon emissions by upwards of 270,000 pounds per year compared to diesel and CNG buses.
Full contest details, including all requirements and deadlines, click here.
Artistic buses can be found all over the world. Here are some of our favorite examples.
Copenhagen Zoo’s “Snakes on a Bus”
Santa Cruz Metro “Protecting our Whales”
Soltrans’ “100% Electric”