Photography by Jane Louie Photography. Courtesy of the Artist.
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced the selection of artists to create five temporary, site-specific public artworks on NYC DOT infrastructure in each of the five boroughs. The work is overseen by NYC DOT Art through its Community Commissions initiative in which the agency collaborates with community-based organizations to commission artists to design and install temporary, site-responsive public art. The art is installed in plazas, medians, triangles, overpasses, and pedestrianized asphalt spaces. Artists were selected through the Community Commissions open call based on artistic merit and strong proposals that demonstrated a connection to the site's cultural context and the partner organization's mission. Community-based organizations were selected from a 2023 RFP for their mission and vision in welcoming art that celebrates their communities. This iteration marks the return of this initiative for the first time since 2020. The program began in 2008 with the inception of NYC DOT Art.
"Public art makes our shared public spaces more vibrant and welcoming, and can even improve street safety," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "Community Commissions is a one-of-a-kind initiative that improves our public spaces while amplifying and supporting artists and local organizations. I applaud each one of these selected artists for using their creative vision to help beautify our streetscape."
"Art has the power to bring people together, to make our public spaces more vibrant and livable, and to empower residents to express their neighborhood's unique character," said NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. "I'm so excited to work with DOT on the return of this extraordinary public art program, which gives artists and communities the opportunity to collaborate on remarkable installations in all five boroughs."
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Queens
Artist: IMAGINE (aka Sneha Shrestha)
Artist bio: IMAGINE (aka Sneha Shrestha) is a Nepali artist who incorporates her native language and meshes the aesthetics of Sanskrit scriptures with graffiti influences. She has shown her meditative works in several exhibitions, commissioned works and public walls around the world from Kathmandu to Boston.
Sneha's painting Home416 was recently acquired into the Permanent Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston making her the first contemporary Nepali artist to ever be acquired in the history of the MFA.
Partner: Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
