Every day, millions of commuters use the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority to get around. Most of us are in such a rush that we rarely ever notice the art that lives in this underground museum. Our subway and commuter rail stations, bridges, and tunnels are home to more than three hundred works of art.
When constructing some of the first train stations in 1902, the planners (Heins & LaFarge) were concerned with commuters entering underground tunnels made of steel and concrete. Besides trying to invite the public into a subterranean transportation, they were also highly influenced at the time by the City Beautiful Movement. These initial stations contained colored mosaics, glass, and terracotta tiles that emphasized the steel and concrete.
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In the 1980s the MTA initiated Art for Transit, sparked by the Percent for Art program, which mandated that one percent of public building construction costs are to be used for public art. The program, now known as MTA Arts & Design, was created to oversee all elements of design within the system, including transit facilities, bus depots, and subway stations. Their goal is to commission public art to enhance the commuter experience with site-specific works of art by well-known and emerging artists alike.
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Since its beginning more than three decades ago, the program has restored and rescued artisanal works of the past and worked alongside artists, architects, and designers. Each work that is chosen and created connects the community and the station together. All materials used for these projects echo those of the original stations: mosaics, ceramic tiles, bronze, steel, and glass (durable material to withstand the test of time).
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To read and learn more about the wonderful art works on display, you may want to consult the following books:Along the Way: MTA Arts for Transit and New York's Underground Art Museum: MTA Arts & Design.
You can also go to the MTA's website and choose your daily mode of transportation, including, for instance: the New York City Transit; Metro-North Railroad; the Long Island Rail Road; Bridges & Tunnels; or New York City Transit Buses. Once you make your choice you can view the different artworks located along the different routes.
Follow their Instagram feed for daily inspiration, or download the app to browse while underground.
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Arts & Design commissions artists through a competitive process. Periodically, they’ll issue a “Call for Artists,” through their website for anyone who may want to be considered for a specific project. Artists, illustrators, and photographers who would like to be reviewed for current or future projects may also e-mail Arts & Design for consideration. They also hold auditions each May for their Music Under New York program.
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The MTA Arts & Design has grown to encompass Music Under New York,Graphic Posters, Poetry in Motion, Digital Art, the photographic Lightbox Project, and special events.
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What is your favorite piece of subway art?
Additional Reading
Jan Lakin, "next stop,"Interior Design 82, no. 11 (September 2011): 206-208.
Megan Guerber, “Underground Aesthetics New York City’s subway transit art represents a huge public art museum,” Public Art Review, no. 52 (Spring/Summer 2015): 90.