In June 2013, ONEArmenia, a for-purpose platform with community-building objectives based out of Yerevan and New York, launched a campaign to reimagine an everyday, often unpleasant, part of life in Armenia: public transportation. The result has come to be known as the #ONEBus and what started as a rather straightforward community project has taken on a life of its own.
1A’s ‘Musical Sketches’ took place in Aeon, a new and progressive type of cafe in the city called an anti-cafe, where visitors pay for their time spent, rather than the food they consume, a concept originating in Moscow. (Image courtesy of Tarverdi Photography)
Lilit Markosian is in charge of 1A’s social media and PR, and says that from the start, the idea was not simply to provide people with free and comfortable rides (the bus has Wi-Fi, clean seats, and air conditioning); rather, the organizers envisioned the bus as an opportunity to reinforce everyday creativity and spontaneity in the city’s community.
In addition to comfort, the bus offers a range of curious features, from curated music selections, which once included a mini-orchestra, to flash mobs inside the vehicle. All this, Markosian says jokingly, helps to relieve the “trauma all locals experience in marshutkas [minivans].” And if you’ve ever been in a marshutka for yourself, then we need say no more.
Thanks to 1A’s branding expertise, the #ONEBus has transformed from a mode of transportation to an icon of modernity on Yerevan’s streets. Organizers intend to allow #ONEBus’s image to expand and seep into their future projects. In July, the #ONEBus launch party was so successful, 1A decided to hold more events that build off the bus’s popular features.
The event provided valuable exposure for young bands, such as ‘Small Bodies,’
above, whose members are all under the age of 16. (Image courtesy of Tarverdi Photography)
For this month’s gathering, ONEArmenia released promotional materials that invited audiences to “join #ONEBus for an evening of Musical Sketches.” Although being invited to a musical event by an automobile may seem rather bizarre (it’s amazing how human beings personify objects for ulterior objectives, isn’t it?), the occasion was inspired by the community’s overwhelming reaction to the bus’s musical component. Amateur musicians and performers were invited to play in the bus’s casual and transient atmosphere. As the roster of musicians grew too long to accommodate, the idea to host an evening of “Musical Sketches” was born. The trendy venue for the event, a new anti-cafe in the city center named Aeon, was jam-packed with family members and supporters.
The event gave an opportunity for Prkutyun, an organization assisting mentally disabled youths in the community, to sell their hand-made goods in a fresh venue. (Image courtesy of Tarverdi Photography)
Yet, performing music informally, whether on the streets or in a moving vehicle, is a unique experience, one that is difficult to recreate in meticulously planned events. The beauty of the #ONEBus performances are that they are relatively low maintenance and low pressure on the part of the performer. Thus, once the event gained exposure and social significance, what began as a list of about 30 bands slowly whittled down to 2.
Despite lacking some of the spirit of spontaneity that #ONEBus is so well known for, the musical evening was still a meaningful gathering for Yerevan’s community. It gave performance exposure to 2 young local bands, Nemra and Small Bodies, both of which are made up of kids ages 14 and up. 1A also collaborated with Prkutyun, a center for disabled children and youth, offering residents of the organization a chance to mingle and sell their hand-made goods in a new setting.