Levi’s Station to Station

Artist Doug Aitken, known for his technologically savvy approach to his projects, has announced his newest endeavour, in partnership with Levi’s. This September, a train designed by Aitken will travel from New York to San Francisco. At each stop it makes it will collaborate with leading figures in art, music, cooking, literature and film in a series of unique cultural events. The project seeks to create a nomadic cultural hub, with content being broadcast worldwide from both the stops and the moving train. Len Peltier, Global Creative Director at Levi’s, has explained the brand’s commitment to the project: “We are so proud to collaborate with Doug Aitken on his latest ground-breaking exploration of art and culture, from our iconic 501® jeans to our trucker jacket and western shirts, the Levi’s® brand equips pioneers for their exploration of the modern frontier. Station to Station provides an incredible platform for pioneers around the world to explore and empowers them to discover, connect, share, innovate and ultimately collaborate.” While Levi’s once equipped people to face new frontiers in terms of hard labour and long distance, Station to Station sees the Levi’s spirit brought into the modern world: following the route of past pioneers from east to west but, this time, progress is measured in terms of ideas rather than miles. At the centre of the project, Aitken has ambitious goals. He stated: “This is a fast moving cultural journey, a constant search over the new horizons of our changing culture. Grounded in some basic questions—Who are we? Where are we going? And, at this moment, how can we express ourselves?—our intention is to create a modern cultural manifesto, for a short time, the most interesting place in the country will be a moving target.” The project is bigger than just the journey – profits from ticket sales are being put towards funding non-traditional programmes at seven partner museums around the US, whilst a documentary and book shall follow shortly after the expedition has finished. With such lofty ambitions, Station to Station is certainly worth keeping an eye on. More details will be released as September draws closer and more information is available at stationtostation.com, including a teaser trailer and a variety of pieces capturing the inspirations for the journey.