Historic New Space for VIA

When VIA Metropolitan Transit Coordinator Jerri Ann Jones needed a new venue space for this year’s NAP exhibit, it seemed only natural to choose the lobby of the Westside Multimodal Transit Center.  Not only does the newly renovated historic building boast a large beautiful lobby space, but it is destined to become the central gathering point for multiple modes of transportation throughout the San Antonio area. With the main goal of bringing the community together via public transportation, the Westside Multimodal Transit Center fit in perfectly with the mission of the NAP to bring communities together.  Having the artwork from employees and their family members on display in this central hub bridges the gap between the people who are using the public transportation and the workers who make using it possible.

 

However, even with the perfect location, there are always challenges when working with a new exhibition space.  For Jerri Ann, the challenge for her Third NAP Exhibit was how to display the close to 150 pieces of artwork in a historic building without any available wall space.  After a lot of research, she decided to utilize metal fencing that could be zip tied together to create free standing structures that the artwork could be hung on.  Being able to configure the fencing to accommodate the artwork as needed was one of the huge advantages to using this type of display system.  The other major benefit was easy storage so that the displays can be used again in future years.  Having to think outside the box when it comes to how artwork is displayed is something that many of our coordinators like Jerri Ann face at one time or another.  It is the ability to come up with creative solutions to issues like this that is just one of the number of ways that our coordinators help to create such successful shows across the country.