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The Joy of Sharing the Road


2025

Gallery exhibit at Carlisle Arts Learning Center which included an inaugural bike parade and a free screenprinting workshop. It was co-curated with community members of Bikelisle.


“Bikelisle is an organization aiming to make the Carlisle region a sustainable community through feasible and safe utilitarian cycling, walking, and alternative modes of transportation. This is achieved through community building, education, advocacy, and the creation of cultural artifacts.”
-Mitch Shiles and Rachel Eng

This exhibit included custom bicycles, fabric flags, graphic posters, photographs from group rides, videos, copies of a bicycle safety manual, and assorted objects from Bikelisle members. The bicycles were assembled from scrap frames, some for the purpose of providing music, and their construction was partially funded through a South Mountain Partnership Grant in 2023 and with help from Dickinson Physics Professor Hans Pfister.
The collaboration included an inaugural bike ride from the Carlisle Tool Library to the exhibit’s opening reception at CALC. A custom-made drum bakfiet bicycle was played during the parade, then assembled for display in the gallery. Interaction with the bicycles was welcome.
The flags were made from upcycled thrift store fabricand contain bicycle graphics and text intended to provoke conversation and offer counter-perspectives. Hand-drawn and computer-designed posters mark the history of group rides that Bikelisle has hosted since its first ride in 2023. The bicycle safety manual was hand drawn by artist Belle O’Shaughnessy and was made possible by a grant that Cumberland Goodwill EMS received from the American Trauma Society. Additionally, members of the community contributed pictures of their bicycles for inclusion in the exhibit.

The safety information collected from visitors on a map of Carlisle during this exhibit will remain in the records of the Carlisle Borough government as a research-based artwork.