Headed by Nick Tobier, professor at Stamps School of Art + Design, University of Michigan, USA, the team of Nomadic Red Corner resident artists, including Munkhdorj Batddelger, professor at Mongolian Radio Television Media Art School, and art and architecture students Munkhnast Ononbayar and Khuslen Erdenemunkh, completed Bus Art Studio creation project from 8 to 21 June 2023, during their stay at the residency.
Old bus, which was acquired from bus company at cheap price was transformed into beautiful studio within 10 days of intense work beginning from cleaning greasy and dirty interior and exterior, then removing all seats and unnecessary items and finishing with furnishings and paintings. Outer and exterior design was developed by Nick Tobier and executed by a team of artists and local kids. For the furnishings, artists used handy materials such as wooden pallets, second hand wooden chests, school tables and chairs. Artists Batsaikhan Soyolsaikhan and Tuvshinjargal Tsend-Ayush came to paint the carpet on the floor of the bus and artist Buyanbaatar decorated exterior with Mongolian traditional patterns. The newly created Bus Art Studio now has several tables and chairs for work, one big bed for relaxation and 2 wooden chests for storing art supplies, ready to be used by artists for creating their artworks and organizing meetings and workshops. Wi-fi is available inside of the studio. The project team finished completing this seemingly laborious project full of fun.
The project was supported by the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar and the University of Michigan, USA.
ABOUT NICK TOBIER
A native New Yorker, Nick Tobier studied history and art as an undergraduate, and sculpture (Bard College) and landscape architecture (Harvard) followed by professional practice at Landworks Studio in Boston and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation in Bronx Division as a designer. Prior to coming to the University of Michigan in 2003, Nick taught foundations at the School of Art and Design at Alfred.
Nick’s interest in the potential of public places has manifested itself in built public projects and actions in San Francisco, Detroit, and New York, internationally from Toronto to Tokyo, Brussels to Medellin, in exhibitions at MOMA, The Smithsonian, The Queens Museum Kunsthalle Nikolaj, Copenhagen, at The Edinburgh, Minneapolis and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals and the Prague Quadrennial. Project sites include bus stops, flea markets, Laundromats, and car washes, and include entrepreneurial design ventures. He is recipient of grants from the Harpo Foundation (2011), the Graham Foundation (2021) and the NEA/ National Endowment for the Arts (2015, 2017 and 2022).
In his current research and teaching, Nick focuses on collaborative projects in the public realm. These efforts have included partnerships with furniture designers, bakers, farmers; critical and celebratory involvements between artists, designers, and broad communities; and a commitment to lasting partnerships working with creative individuals and communities from Detroit to Ishinomaki through the Brightmoor Maker Space, an open to the community hands-on workshop.
