Ryobi Bus and Okayama Electric Bus cooperate with “Okayama Art Exchange 2025”; route buses turn into “moving art pieces” that decorate Okayama city

Ryobi Bus and Okayama Electric Bus Cooperate in “Okayama Art Exchange 2025”: Route buses transform into “moving artworks” that brighten up Okayama City ​
Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd. Press Release: October 21, 2025 Ryobi Bus and Okayama Electric Bus cooperate with “Okayama Art Exchange 2025”; route buses become “moving artworks” that decorate Okayama City. Available for a limited time until November 24th We are pleased to announce that Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd., Ryobi Bus Company, a member of the Ryobi Group, and Okayama Electric Tramway Co., Ltd. are collaborating with the Okayama Art Summit 2025 from Friday, September 26, 2025, to Monday, November 24, 2025 (a national holiday), by providing some of their route buses and bus stops. The “Rainbow Bus Line,” a work by renowned American production designer James Chinlund, will brighten up the city with LED decorations on route buses and bus stops. The Art Bus will operate on routes within Okayama City’s center and is open to the public. Additionally, a bus stop is used as part of Holly Herndon & Matthew Dryhurst’s “Star Mirror/Public Diffusion.” Enjoy the special experience of encountering art in your everyday life. ■“Okayama Art Exchange 2025” cooperation work “Okayama Art Exchange 2025” This international contemporary art exhibition is held in Okayama City every three years, and features works by guests from around the world on display in various locations around the city. Period: September 26, 2025 (Friday) to November 24, 2025 (Monday, closed) Admission fee: Free Organized by: Okayama Arts Exchange Executive Committee (Okayama City, Ishikawa Cultural Promotion Foundation, Okayama Prefecture) We’ve provided route bus vehicles and bus stops for the work. Please take a look.
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James Chinlund, Rainbow Bus Line, 2025. Courtesy of the artist (C)2025 Okayama Arts Exchange Executive Committee Photography: Yasushi Ichikawa Title: Rainbow Bus Line Artist: James Chinlund Number of vehicles equipped with LEDs: 52 Okaden buses, 10 Ryobi buses Bus stop equipped with LEDs: “Tenmaya Bus Terminal” bus stop Work Description: James Chinlund is an award-winning American production designer known for his world-building work in film and television. His project, Rainbow Bus Line, is an intervention in which colorful LED lights are installed on the underside of Okayama City’s route buses. As the buses pass through the city, the aim is to signal to people that “something is happening,” stimulating their curiosity and inspiring them to explore the city. “What is happening?” “Why is this magical light emitting from underneath the bus I ride every day?” “Where is it coming from?” Visitors are left searching for the source of this parasitic intervention, asking questions like, “What is going on?” “Why is this magical light emitting from underneath the bus I ride every day?” “Where is it coming from?” Inspired by Guy Debord’s concept of dérives (drifting), visitors are invited to explore the city, get lost, discover, and above all, play. Along the way, visitors will discover that at the heart of Okayama Art Exchange is a bus station, illuminated with multicolored lights similar to those under the buses, an invitation to explore further.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/52428/506/52428-506-882630094d5fdb627aad7f9171b73ccc-3900×2601.jpg Holly Herndon & Matthew Dryhurst, Star Mirror/Public Diffusion (C)2025 Okayama Art Exchange Executive Committee Title: Star Mirror / Public Diffusion Artist: Holly Herndon & Matthew Dryhurst Location: Okayama Tenmaya (Tenmaya Alice Square), Okayama Prefecture Tenjinyama Cultural Plaza, Castle Underground Square Artwork Description: Holly Herndon & Matthew Dryhurst are known as pioneering artists working in the fields of machine learning, software, and music. While developing their own technologies, they are also building systems for coexistence with others’ technologies, often focusing on digital identity, voice ownership, and augmentation. Public Diffusion is an AI model trained on public domain data, while Star Mirror is an app that encourages humans to create the data AI needs to learn from. In Okayama, people are guided to record the city around them, imprinting their presence in the eternal commons. This project is a beautiful way to build AI; models that belong to no one, yet belong to everyone.