The Fun Art Bus project from 1972-2015 provided arts and cultural activities to housing estates and communities. The project is being revived in 2012-2015 under Rose Bruford College and will use a converted bus to bring theatre, art workshops, and community development activities to London boroughs and UK cities. It will work with local authorities and residents to establish self-help groups and connect people with social and cultural opportunities. The project aims to have a positive impact following the 2011 unrest and support community recovery through arts engagement and skills development.

1. The Fun Art Bus
Re-Routed 2012-15
FAB
A Community Arts Project

2. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The names below have supported this project as follows:
The Lords Giddens, King, Phillips, Rix and Waldegrave and -
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Baroness Bakewell DBE, Peter Boizot MBE DL, Richard Briers CBE, Simon Callow CBE,
Sir Ronald Cohen, Sir Christopher Chataway, Antony Gormley OBE, Sir Howard Hodgkin, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins,
Glenda Jackson CBE MP, Dame Cleo Laine, Roger McGough, Bishop Adrian Newman,
Michael Palin CBE, Leon Rosselson Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Diana Rigg, Prunella Scales CBE, Ralph Steadman,
Dr. Miriam Stoppard OBE and Sir Tom Stoppard:
“We strongly recommend supporting this post-August, 2011, Inter-Action community development project spearheaded by a
multi-arts vehicle. It will visit housing estates and Borough/Town centres to establish self-help groups and create a reality for the
participation of residents locally. It will collaborate with Local Authorities (all those selected have welcomed it) and with local
agencies seeking similar positive outcomes
We feel that all relevant Foundations, Trusts, Grant-giving bodies, socially responsible Companies and Philanthropists should
seriously give this cost-effective project high priority in their deliberations. We also implore the nation's leading creators to join
in this important project which could be called:'Great British Artists United for Cultural Fairness'.”
On-going support from HRH the Prince of Wales:
“Inter-Action’s imaginative and refreshingly simple schemes are exactly the sort we aim to encourage”
(cont...)

3. FAB
A Community Arts Project
Endorsement from David Lammy MP for Tottenham:
“The Fun Art Bus is an inspirational, exciting and valuable project which, through creative and interactive
education methods, can have a positive influence on our communities, affirming the vital role of the arts at the heart
of our society.
The Bus will be travelling through Tottenham, [among many Boroughs/Cities] where children, young people and
adults will benefit greatly from the opportunity for engagement with such vibrant and constructive activities,
especially as we move forward and recover from the unrest caused by the disorder during August, 2011.
I wish the Fun Art Bus and its follow-up community development projects the best of success with this campaign.”

4. FAB
A Community Arts Project
History
In 1972, Inter-Action the Kentish Town-based international community arts project, launched the
Fun Art Bus (FAB), under the artistic direction of ED Berman MBE
A Routemaster bus was specially converted to
create a small theatre on the upper deck, writing
in the windows and on handouts, poetry out of the
ticket machine, art works in the advertising spaces
roof windows and walls along with a window-box
mime theatre, commissioned music through the
sound system and a cinema showing short films ,
videos and slide-shows downstairs.
The Fun Art Bus Book (1973)

5. FAB
A Community Arts Project
History
Artists painted, designed and created
installations/sculptures. Playwrights wrote
short plays, which were performed by a
small company of actors and stories were
read to children and handed out for them
to take home.
The ride and the entertainment were free
(the bus ‘tickets’ were poems by writers
such as Roger McGough) and disembarking The Fun Art Bus (1972) The Windowbox Mime Theatre
passengers received cut-out paper models
of the bus and Alan Brownjohn’s The Big
Red Bus Book.
The Fun Art Bus (1972) Henry
Goodman as the Clippie

6. FAB
A Community Arts Project
History
The Fun Art Bus (1972) ED Berman in checks (left)
and Henry Goodman (right) introduce the moonmen The Fun Art Bus (1972)
A quintuple decker!

7. FAB
A Community Arts Project
History
On the Top Deck: World’s Smallest Proscenium Arch Theatre

8. FAB
A Community Arts Project
History
The FAB became a symbol for a host of Inter-Action activities (high quality professional
Arts projects and Arts-Leading-to-Community-Development-objectives). These included:
• The Almost Free Theatre
• City Farms
• Britain’s First Women’s, Gay and
Black Theatre Seasons
• The First Community Media Van
(featuring a mobile amplified
speakerphone which enabled the public
to speak to their Local Authority leaders
– ‘The World’s Largest Telephone Kiosk’)
• The First Purpose Built Community
Arts Centre in Europe
• The First Community Sports Programme
producing Olympic athletes in the UK

9. FAB
A Community Arts Project
Inter-Action Fun Art Bus 2012 & 2013
Inter-Action, under the aegis of Rose Bruford College and in association with Unfinished Histories, will
launch an entirely new Fun Art Bus for the Olympic Year and beyond (2012-13, selected London
Boroughs and 2014, selected major UK towns and cities). The bus comprises several neutral theatre,
video and art exhibition spaces. The contents will be entirely new art, literary, musical and theatre
creations; it is not a revival.
A specially selected team of students and staff from Rose Bruford College are converting an old
RouteMaster into a mobile multi-arts venue with exhibition spaces, a proscenium arch theatre upstairs,
a window theatre for mime downstairs and a portable, outdoor performance platform. Inter-Action will
fit the vehicle with large LED video screens and as much modern technology as possible for sound,
projections, digital arts and IT.
The new Fun Art Bus will draw on Inter-Action’s years of experience in both the arts and social
enterprise/community development. This time, the Bus will not only be a vehicle for the arts and
entertainment, but its other function will be as a vehicle to introduce community development
especially in the arts, social, self-help and cultural activities. The workers for the preparatory and
development phases are called ‘Lone Rangers’ who will arrange workshops in self-help as well as
literacy/numeracy, theatre, art, drawing, etc.
“Inter-Action’s imaginative and refreshingly simple schemes
are exactly the sort we aim to encourage”
HRH The Prince of Wales
Statement from the 1979 film about three of Inter-Action’s other projects from the 1970s

10. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: Lone Rangers
The Lone Rangers are specially trained workers who combine community arts, self-help and arts
workshop skills. They carry the responsibility for the community arts development aspects of this Fun
Art Bus project via the first of a four phase programme: Contacts and Liaisons.
These workers will liaise with the person appointed by the Local Authority to provide contacts. The
contacts will be approached by the ‘Lone Rangers’ to collaborate and/or help with the programme.
The Inter-Action Fun Art Bus Project is not asking Local Authorities for any funding and the visit of the
Fun Art Bus and its follow-up training/workshops is free of charge. We are attempting to raise the
funding from socially responsible businesses, Arts and Foundation sources.
Who Will
Participate
Locally?

11. FAB
A Community Arts Project
F.A.B. Key Elements
How Can You
Participate in
Self-Help Locally?
CONTACTS & LIAISONS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What Do You Need www.
DIALOGUE inter-action.
To
Participate Locally? uk.
com
TRAINING SUPPORT & INFORMATION

12. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: CONTACTS AND LIAISONS
After the initial contacts and liaisons, the Lone Rangers will do the following:
• Prepare for the visit of the bus with local Officers, representatives of voluntary
agencies and local people
• Roam through the audience asking what people think they want
• Explain that they will be given training to set up their own self-help group(s) or training workshops
• Arrange for the follow-up training visits to establish self-help groups(s)
• Set up the website for each visited location
• Give out contacts and training sheets for social, local arts and cultural activities/training
How Can You
Participate in
Self-Help Locally?

13. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: CONTACTS AND LIAISONS
Phase 1 (Pre-F.A.B.visit): The Lone Ranger makes arrangements for the arrival of the Fun Art Bus,
and establishes a connection between the Local Authority, local community
and arts groups, charities, businesses and residents of the specific
Housing Estate.
Phase 2 (The F.A.B. visit): During the Fun Art Bus visit, the Lone Ranger interacts with the audience
helping them to work out what cultural, community education, arts and
social resources they might want to try to obtain locally and run through
their own self-help groups. The Lone Ranger will also provide more specific
contact points for information and will set up a future meeting to discuss
organising self-help groups, training schemes, literacy/numeracy trainers
and work opportunities.
How Can You
Participate in
Self-Help Locally?

14. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Fun Art Bus is a mobile, multi-arts centre -- a group installation on wheels. Up to 60 artists will be
invited to submit writings, paintings, sculptures, cartoons, music and plays. These will be selected and
co-ordinated by the project’s Artistic Director.
Well known artists will ‘front’ for emerging artists who will be introduced to the public. Artists who
contribute will retain the ownership and copyrights of their creations. It is intended to have an
exhibition of all of the artistic contributions in a secure, central London location after year one.
For the special pre-launch offer (May – October, 2012), featuring your local artists and performers,
please e-mail us at info@inter-action.uk.com
Each FAB visit provides an introduction to a range of arts/cultural activities including:
• Theatre • Mime
• Painting • Sculpture
• Drawing • Cartoon
• Film • Dance
• Story-telling • Music
• Photography • Reading
• Poetry • Hip-hop
• Concrete Poetry • Video
• Zumba • Digital Art
• Street Dance • Writing

15. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: DIALOGUE
If the Local Authority agrees to appoint someone to field questions, then an
amplified speakerphone will enable residents, surrounded by their friends and
neighbours, to gain information orally and directly from their Local Authority.
Once residents have been given the confidence to speak to their Local
Authority, it is hoped that some will feel confident to continue and
become more active participants locally and in self-help groups.

16. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: Training
Following on from the work undertaken in the first and second phases -- Contacts & Liaisons, the
Lone Rangers carry out Phases 3 and 4 of their work:
Phase 3 (The follow-up visit): The Lone Rangers return to facilitate follow-up sessions. This may be
a creative workshop, a training session in social enterprise or how to set
up and run their own self-help groups for various cultural/educational
or social purposes. This will be followed by an open meeting to take
new suggestions and to answer questions.
Phase 4 (Website and The Lone Rangers will hand out leaflets guiding people to their own
Phone Contact): section of Inter-Action’s website where there will be tailor-made arts/
social/educational/cultural information for their community and contact
details for Inter-Action’s support team.
What Do You Need This approach enables positive cultural engagement and/or
To participation within a community, many months and years
after the F.A.B. has moved on…
Participate Locally?

17. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus: SUPPORT & INFORMATION
Inter-Action will provide and maintain tailor-made sections of its website for each estate/venue
visited. These will provide the following:
1. Photographs and videos of local people participating in the Fun Art Bus visit
2. Borough specific information
3. Support for the training/workshops/self-help group sessions
4. Evaluations – qualitative and quantitative
5. Regular updates among all participants
www.
inter-action.
uk.
com

18. Monday 28th November 2011
This Interim Report sets out the “Financial Recovery for Individuals and Businesses” as follows:
“The final bill may be around half a billion pounds” !!
The report also states that:
“330,000 tourists have been predicted to go elsewhere, cutting tourism spending by £520m”
Earlier the Evening Standard reported:
Wednesday 2nd November 2011
Scotland Yard is facing a possible bill of up to £370 million for the four At the same time the cost of police overtime and drafting in reinforcements
days of unrest that swept the capital in August. and the bill for the criminal enquiry could top £71 million.
The bill includes compensations claims from firms whose properties Officials say that while the Government is expected to pick up much of the
were damaged or destroyed in unrest of between £200 to £300 million. bill so far nothing has been agreed. There are fears that the cash-strapped
At the same time the cost of police overtime and drafting in Met will be left facing a shortfall of millions of pounds. John Biggs, the
reinforcements and the bill for the criminal enquiry could top £71 London Assembly budget committee chairman, said: “Whatever happens
million. there will be a cost from the disturbances which will be born by Londoners.”
At first The Guardian reported this:
Tuesday 6th September 2011
“The riots in England will cost the taxpayer more than £133m in policing and compensation for businesses hit
by the violence, the home affairs select committee has been told.”
This does not include the cost of the judiciary or imprisonment

19. FAB
A Community Arts Project
Proposed Boroughs/Cities For Visits 2012-2013
September 2012- August 2013 September 2013 - December 2014
(6 of the following)
• Barking and Dagenham • Hounslow • Birmingham
• Croydon • Lambeth • Bristol
• Camden • Newham • Liverpool
• Enfield • Southwark • Manchester
• Greenwich • Tower Hamlets • Nottingham
• Hackney • Waltham Forest • Salford
• Haringey • Wandsworth • Peterborough
NB:
1. Other Boroughs/Cities for visits will be considered upon request
2. Additional follow-up sessions for workshops & self-help training for
estates visited will take place from November - March 2012 and 2013

20. FAB
A Community Arts Project
The Fun Art Bus – A Timely Initiative
We believe that the Inter-Action Fun Art Bus and its surrounding project, provided under the aegis of
Rose Bruford College and in association with Unfinished Histories, has a timely role to play in
collaboration with Local Authorities, local voluntary organisations and local residents on housing estates.
Inter-Action will draw on its own experience and the experience of the Local Authorities to ensure that
the hard to reach and disadvantaged gain contacts with the social, arts, educational and cultural activities
in their wider areas as well as workshops and self-help training.
In light of the events of August, 2011, we believe that the Inter-Action Fun Art Bus project can make a
contribution to the activities that Local Authorities and Voluntary Agencies will be implementing. It will
collaborate with Local Agencies and involve local people in planning the visits and follow-up training.
Local artists of all kinds are welcome to perform on the Bus.
Perhaps the most important part of this project is its self-help and self-improvement follow-up training.
This will be enhanced by tailor-made online advice and photos/videos of people participating on each
estate. We hope that the overall FAB project will make a small, but meaningful, contribution to the
reconstruction of skills, community education, attitudes, opportunities and aspirations of many local
children, young people and adults regardless of their previous isolation, skills gaps and confidence levels.