VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, TX, is joining the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Architecture and the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs in an effort to integrate public art, public transit, and a public cultural arts facility.

The partnership came about after UTSA was selected for a $50,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to lead a community engagement process focused on the design development of a public art transit stop near the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. This NEA program supports joint efforts of not-for-profit organizations and local government entities to uphold the goals of creative, transformational projects that create community identity and a sense of place, with the arts at their core.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro said: “It is collaborative projects like this that bring about creative growth in our city. The Our Town grant will also enable the Office of Cultural Affairs to further its efforts to bring art and culture to public spaces.”

This fall, the partners will host a series of public discussions to develop design concepts for a new public art transit stop close to the Tobin Center, located in the north portion of San Antonio’s famed River Walk. The redevelopment of the Tobin Center, scheduled to open in 2014, will serve as a gateway to the Museum Reach of the River Walk extension.

“This grant offers the opportunity to design a public art-focused transit stop, and aligns with our commitment to improve our downtown transit facilities and serve important cultural destinations,” said VIA President/Chief Executive Officer Keith Parker.