Artists provide the soundtrack for Gary bus riders

Chicago Tribune

25-06-2025

Michael Robinson heard the saxophone melody drifting toward his bus Wednesday and walked over to hear Damico Brown's smooth jazz notes outside the Gary Metro Station.
Other curious riders watched in the hot, muggy morning, as well.
'I think it's great that he's out here. This brings people out,' said Robinson before boarding a Gary Public Transit Corp. bus to his job in Merrillville.
On Wednesdays and Fridays, 'Arts on the Move' performers including a dance troupe, musicians, and artists, are stationed at stops along the GPTC's Rapid Bus Route along Broadway offering popup performances to uplift riders during their day.
'Everyone who comes always smiles,' said Brown, of Gary. 'It's always been encouraging and we give them a positive.'
The endeavor sprang from interim GPTC General Manager Denise Comer Dillard and McKenya Dilworth Smith, director of Gary's Morning Bishop Theatre Project.
'We are committed to ensuring accessibility for our riders, and that includes access to the arts,' said Comer Dillard. 'Just as mobility should not be limited to any one group of people, the arts should be inclusive as well.'
Dilworth Smith lined up about 40 performers, who are paid through a $5,000 grant provided by Lake County Commissioner Kyle Allen, D-Gary.
The program began last week and runs through mid-July.
Dilworth Smith said artists are often forgotten as funding is parsed out by governments.
'Denise wanted a program of collaboration. Arts are always the first thing to get cut. She came to me, and said 'what will work?''
The two women hoped spectators would be engaged and appreciate the rich tradition of artistic expression in Gary.
'Accessibility is akin to inclusion and togetherness. These are aspects of our society that need the arts more than ever to fill a real void of disconnection that lends itself to alienation,' said Dilworth Smith.
In just brief snippet performances at the bus stops, the artists showcased their creativity and talent.
Gary rapper Young Khan Tha Don, also known as Brother Damon Jones, explained the origin of his piece he calls 'The Gas Station,' after a performance at 6th Avenue and Broadway.
'I was at a gas station on 45th and Broadway right here in Gary and it was right at the time the school was dismissing.'
He said he saw kids flocking to the gas station to load up on snacks.
'It was just the overall energy after school was letting out and them enjoying their free time… I just kind of wanted to give a visual snapshot to the listener.'
He said it's an honor to work with the Morning Bishop Theatre and GPTC.
'You know artists, they are instrumental in helping people to feel better, and we provide the soundtracks to people's lives,' he said.
Meanwhile, Nahla Gem, a Columbia College graduate, performed a poem she wrote as riders boarded the bus.
'I was very excited to help with this,' she said.
She performs Spoken Word regularly as part of the Lyrical Lotus' Heal N' Mic program at Brothers Keeper's community garden.
Back at the Metro station, Karina Mitchell set up her easel and finished an acrylic painting as Brown played his sax.
Mitchell said she began painting back in 1985.
'The bus riders, they actually tipped the sax player,' she said. She said she never envisioned painting at a bus station. 'But it's not bad.'
Both Comer Dillard and Dilworth Smith are pleased with the project.
'We want to make art a daily activity,' said Dilworth Smith. 'Something to uplift the quality of life. It wouldn't be possible without the vision of Denise Dillard. 'You are our ambassador,' she told her.