(TRENTON, NJ) -- The Trenton Community A-TEAM (TCAT) announces the launch of its new mobile art studio, the Art Cart. The converted bookmobile is now appearing in designated Trenton neighborhoods to engage community members in self-expression through art making.
This new venture for the 26-year-old outsider art organization continues TCAT's pioneering work of using the arts to improve the lives of people in marginalized Trenton communities.
Founded in 2000 by five patrons of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), the A-TEAM began with a grassroots understanding that creative expression affirms individuals and generates mutual support.
Welcome to Art Cart, verticle, TCAT artists. From left, Brook Beatty, Deborah Kisela, and Lisa Lewis
As the informal group grew in number and reputation, participants saw a need for a formal nonprofit organization to provide program support by receiving grants and donations.
Accordingly, TCAT was founded in 2014 and today continues to interact with the weekly TASK art program, maintains an A-Team studio and gallery at 51 North Stockton Street, Trenton, organizes exhibitions in regional and state galleries and museums, assists with professional training for participating artists, and assists members in marketing and selling art.
The Art Cart project is one of several new TCAT initiatives and organizational goals supported by a $408,717 grant from the New Jersey Economic Development's $15 million Phase II of the Activation, Revitalization, and Transformation (A.R.T.) program.
Coordinated in cooperation with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, A.R.T. was designed to stimulate community place making efforts by leveraging New Jersey's arts and cultural sector as a creative force for change, and by supporting nonprofit organizations focused on public art installations and arts-based initiatives.
The first phase of the initiative was piloted in 2023 in Newark and Atlantic City. The program was expanded to include 31 New Jersey municipalities.
The Art Cart bus was built by the Thomas Bus Company in North Carolina in 2007 and formerly owned and operated by the City of New Bedford Library in Massachusetts.
TCAT purchased the vehicle in 2025 for $34,030. An additional $26,204 was allocated to JM Custom Coach Builders in Roebling, NJ, to transform the interior into an art studio and small exhibition area, install a retractable awning, and create exterior signage.
TCAT artists participated by painting the interior and staffing the bus during its Trenton stops.
In addition to its weekly TASK stops, The Art Cart will be making appearances at the September 19 Art All Day festival in Trenton, September 20 Evening of Art & Poetry at Old City Hall in Bordentown, and the October 15 America at 250 Art Celebration featuring painting and painting at the historic Mercer County Cemetery in Trenton.
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