Throughout August, Vancouver transit provider TransLink is encouraging users to “ride with Pride,” on its one-of-a-kind, bee-themed Pride bus. Photo courtesy TransLink
Throughout August, Vancouver transit provider TransLink is encouraging users to “ride with Pride,” on its one-of-a-kind, bee-themed Pride bus.
In celebration of the city’s Pride Festival on Aug. 5 and 6, local artist Joe Average created the bus wrap based on one of his well-known pieces, “Bee Line.” The theme for this year’s celebration was “Reconnect,” which aimed to symbolize the Vancouver Pride Society’s commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and reconnecting Pride to the community.
“I’m that one bee that’s always going in the other direction of the masses,” says Average, whose piece features one rogue colony member flying against the rest.
After being diagnosed with HIV in 1984, at age 27, Average decided to commit the rest of his life to art, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Community Achievement, and the Order of British Columbia.
In 1991, after designing Canada’s first AIDS Awareness Week Poster, he was one of 50 Canadians to attend a luncheon with Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Rideau Hall. Average lives in Vancouver, and frequently donates his time and work to charitable causes.
