Artists find inspiration on COTA bus rides [This Week]


ADAM CAIRNS/THISWEEK
European artists Martin Keil and Henrik Mayer have been commissioned to create public-art installations for the Central Ohio Transit Authority for Finding Time: Columbus Public Art, which is part of the city’s bicentennial celebration.

Martin Keil and Henrik Mayer recently spent two weeks in Columbus.
They rode the bus — a lot.
The European artists — Keil lives in the Ukraine and Mayer in Germany — spent three days riding nonstop aboard Central Ohio Transit Authority buses to far-reaching areas of the city, taking pictures and chatting up the riders and drivers.
“It’s great to ride the bus,” Mayer said.
“Sitting on the bus for hours, it’s kind of like a safari,” Keil said.
The two men have been commissioned to create public-art installations for COTA for Finding Time: Columbus Public Art, which is part of the city’s bicentennial celebration.
Keil and Mayer, who are being paid $10,000 for their work, collaborate as “Reinigungsgesellschaft,” which translates to “The Cleaning Society” in German.

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