Recreational vehicle manufacturer Airstream has launched a creative platform called AIRLAB with a public art activation in New York City that turned one of its trailers into a collaborative artwork, the company said in a statement on June 10.
The move marks an attempt by the Ohio-based manufacturer, owned by New York-listed THOR Industries (THO), to extend its brand beyond travel products into art and design partnerships, a tactic increasingly used by consumer brands seeking cultural relevance with younger audiences.
The activation, titled Make Your Mark, began with a white-wrapped Airstream trailer placed unannounced in the SoHo district, with its doors, windows and identifying features concealed apart from a badge and a number plate reading “AIRLAB”, according to the statement.
In partnership with the automotive art collective CART Department, selected New York-based artists then decorated the trailer’s exterior over two days at a venue in the West Village, contributing illustration, graffiti, painting, lettering and mixed media work. The finished trailer was put on public display.
“Airstream has always been about more than travel,” said Airstream president and chief executive Bob Wheeler. He said AIRLAB was intended to create a platform where mobility, creative expression and collaboration could come together.
The company described AIRLAB as part incubator, part innovation studio and part storytelling platform, bringing together makers across disciplines using the Airstream as a tool.
Airstream, founded by Wally Byam and based in Jackson Center, Ohio, is one of the longest-running recreational vehicle manufacturers in the world. Parent company THOR Industries is the largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles globally.