TENNESSEE VALLEY-On any given month, millions of motorists log upwards of 230 billion miles of travel across America’s highways and byways. In summer months, it’s closer to 290 billion miles.
In Tennessee Valley Authority’s seven-state region alone, millions of vehicles are registered for private or commercial use.
No matter how you tally the nation’s travel stats, it adds up to a lot of eyes on a lot of roadways.
And if you’re a good storyteller, it’s a golden opportunity to share your message with a vast audience.
Enter TVA’s artists and the enterprise’s Heavy Equipment and Transportation Services group.
As vice president of TVA Civil Projects and Equipment Support Services, Scott Turnbow knew his team’s tractor-trailers would be a perfect canvas on which to highlight TVA’s storied history of service and innovation.
“I wanted to begin updating the look of some of our tractor-trailers with something that would be eye-catching,” Turnbow said. “I wanted this mobile mural to tell the TVA story from the beginning of our inception, through time, and looking to the future.”
Karen Estes and Christopher Crim, creative designers for TVA Marketing and Creative Communications, collaborated with him and his team to create a mural that could adorn TVA’s fleet of tractor-trailers.
“We wanted a detailed wrap that encapsulated TVA’s history and innovative future, while recognizing the people who perform the work,” Skyla Baldwin, project manager for TVA Equipment Support Services, said.
“We commend the drivers and the team behind the traveling murals – our Transportation Services department,” she said. “Transportation Services plays a critical role in supporting operations throughout the entire enterprise by providing safe and reliable transportation.
“Their diverse fleet allows them to transport heavy equipment, fuel, hazardous waste, oversized system components and more, all while being available 24/7. The drivers are excited to drive these wrapped trailers as they perform their work – while also sharing TVA’s story with a larger audience.”
In developing the mural, Estes and Crim worked from images of TVA’s generating sites, such as Norris Dam – the enterprise’s first dam – and photos of nuclear sites, transmission, coal combustion, hydropower and solar.
They stylized the mural into a collage that pays homage to art by Robert Birdwell, creator of TVA’s most iconic murals from the 1950s to ’80s.
The resulting imagery gives community members a sense of ownership and pride, knowing that TVA works for them and their families, Baldwin said.
The mural “portrays TVA’s humble roots of where it came from, and its innovative future to where it’s heading,” Baldwin said. “(It) also places an emphasis on the people who perform the work here at TVA – because people are our biggest asset.”
The mural will adorn five TVA tractor-trailers that haul equipment throughout the region and, sometimes, across the nation.
As the vehicles hit the road, they’ll serve to spotlight TVA’s mission of service and its legacy of innovation.
“TVA has an incredible history,” Estes said, and the mural “gives a nod to where we have been and where we are going.”
By blending art with transportation, this traveling artwork transforms everyday business functions into an engaging brand experience.
“Since its inception, TVA staff has created monumental works of art in its public spaces to share with the people of the Valley,” Pat Ezzell, TVA historian and field marketing specialist, said. “The new mobile murals are a testament to that public art tradition – and they’re carrying it forward to the future.”
Estes and Crim look forward to future projects where an artistic touch can help spotlight TVA’s mission of the service to the people of the region.
“We want to keep the tradition of storytelling alive,” Estes said.
Media Release/TVA Newsroom
