The Hamilton ARTbus is one bus you will not want to miss! Throughout the past 7 years it has become one of Hamilton’s visual art scene icons. The Hamilton ARTbus continues to deliver art lovers to the door step of local emerging art galleries and various studios.

Now let’s admit it, we’ve all walked around an art museum and it is not that entertaining when you do have artistic knowledge or an interest in the specific type of art. The ARTbus changes that. This service gives the community the opportunity to enjoy an interactive experience including watching demonstrations, artist talks and it gives exposure to special media nights such as photography, pottery, graffiti, fine art and glass. The community can listen to the artists speak about their art, ask questions and can sit in on demonstrations and it’s on ARTbus… what’s cooler than that?

What can you expect to see on the ARTbus? I’ll tell you.  The bus visits established galleries but continues to find new spaces and studios each month.

One of the stops from the past is at photographer Joseph Hartman’s studio. At his studio, Hartman was present to speak about his work as a photographer and why he uses the city of Hamilton as his inspiration for his work. He often features various different scenes of Hamilton in his work.

Next, the ARTbus may stop at the “New Works” by Peter Kirkland. This exhibition consists of many paintings and drawings. Kirkland is a Canadian abstract artist and his work has been exhibited throughout southern Ontario. His paintings are oil on wood and his drawings are mixed media on paper.

The tour has also stopped at the Borton Street studio where participants have had the opportunity to see glass jewelry and they can also take part in the demonstration of bead making.

Just last week the ARTbus took eager art enthusiasts to visit the shops of James North.  One in specific is Humblepie. It is a collection of pure, sustainable and local creativity from the people of Hamilton. Humblepie contains a little bit of everything; it is a retail store, a creative workshop and design studio and art gallery all in one place. The participants will be able to taste decorative arts and participate in a demonstration of paint products.  

A participant of the ARTbus has commented that the art bus is “good for anyone new to Hamilton, good for anyone who’s always lived in Hamilton, and good for anyone even vaguely interested in art!”

The Hamilton ARTbus meets at the Pearl Company, 16 Steven Street Hamilton, at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Friday of each month. It is sure to give to a sophisticated and fun evening of learning about community and local artists. Now do the one of many things you never wanted to do as a child but always listened to your parents when they said “Don’t miss the bus!”