Public Art Fund presents Art on the Grid, a multi-platform exhibition of new work by a group of 50 New York-based, emerging artists. The exhibition was conceived in the spring of 2020 in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As it developed, the parallel epidemic of systemic racism came into sharp and painful focus. Both crises now set the backdrop for the exhibition. The city, country, and world will emerge changed by these events, and the exhibition’s focus on reconnection and renewal have become even more urgent. Works in the exhibition are united around a number of themes including healing and loss; community and isolation; intimacy and solitude; and the creation of a future that is more just, inclusive, and equitable.
On view on 500 JCDecaux bus shelters and more than 1,700 LinkNYC kiosks across all five boroughs, these works serve as a reminder of the irrepressible creative spirit of New York City and transform the city into a free open-air art gallery this summer. In partnership with JCDecaux and NYC & Company, spaces typically reserved for advertising and public messaging serve as temporary canvases for 50 artists to showcase new works that encourage the public to re-engage with their communities.
The second group of 40 new artworks to be unveiled on July 27 are by Nina Chanel Abney, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Kamrooz Aram, Leilah Babirye, Chloë Bass, María Berrío , Elizabeth Bick, Zach Bruder, Jordan Casteel, Sara Cwynar, Jeremy Dennis, Marley Freeman, Ivan Forde, Chitra Ganesh, Oto Gillen, Baris Gokturk, Lucia Hierro, Esteban Jefferson, Yifan Jiang, Cheyenne Julien, Adam Khalil, Baseera Khan, Andrew Kuo, Sophie Larrimore, Nate Lewis, Joiri Minaya, Willa Nasatir, Jordan Nassar, Madhini Nirmal, Stephen Obisanya, Danielle Orchard, Anna Ostoya, Anna Park, GaHee Park, Jamaal Peterman, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Adrienne Elise Tarver, Salman Toor, D’Angelo Lovell Williams, and Wong Kit Yi.