Driving down Interstate 75, you may have seen a big bus coated head to toe in bright paint passing by. This isn’t any regular bus; it’s NOMAD. Carrie Boucher founded the NOMAD Art Bus in 2013 and launched it in 2014. NOMAD, which stands for Neighborhood Oriented Mobile Art and Design, has brought art to underprivileged areas in Tampa Bay.
A studio artist by trade, Carrie Boucher never believed her career would lead her to gain a passion for nonprofit work. After moving back to the Bay from Chicago, she saw a need for an accessible creative outlet for the youth across Tampa Bay. The first challenge she faced was navigating how to get art to the children across the Tampa Bay area.
“We believe everyone is creative and should have access to creative activities,” she said.
Each month, NOMAD travels throughout the Tampa Bay area to after-school programs, recreation centers and schools. The bus acts as a canvas where children and adults are prompted to cover its exterior in paint. It takes around an hour to fully coat the bus in a fresh set of paint. After it’s covered in paint murals from head to toe, the bus is prepared for its next set of artists by power-washing it back into a blank, white canvas. This is a unique process that allows for creativity to be introduced in new ways during each event.
“We knew we were going to need a bus because first of all, we need to transport a lot of art supplies around, but also because a bus is such a big and visual vehicle,” she said.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, this traveling nonprofit stops at Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center and Tampa Residential facility for youth and rehabilitation. NOMAD volunteers bring new art projects with readily available tools for participants to interact with each week. Their goal is to expose students to new art forms and to create a safe and welcoming space where they are able to express themselves.
“We as artists believe that creative expression is a basic need to we bring that to those spaces,” she said.
NOMAD receives a tremendous amount of support from its volunteers and artists who keep the bus running. In addition, NOMAD’s fundraising comes from loyal supporters from Patreon and donors who believe in the power of the bus. Sponsors include Gobioff Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Pinellas Community Foundation.
“The growth of NOMAD has been organic, but it’s grown very fast,” she said.
If you want to participate in a paint event or find out how you can get involved, check out their website below or follow NOMAD Art Bus on Instagram and Facebook to learn how you can #DriveCreativity.
