Lucia Hierro for Public Art Fund

Lucia Hierro (b. 1987, New York, NY; lives and works in The Bronx, New York)The Daily Bread/El Pan de Cada Día, 2020Digital imageCourtesy the artist

For this work, I not only wanted to replicate a bodega but also to highlight the moments which mimic Colmados in the Dominican Republic; depicting baked goods, root vegetables, and other items Americans may not immediately recognize. They function as everything stores but most importantly are a place where neighbors commune. The survival of these small businesses is so important to me. These spaces offer a little piece of home to those from the island.

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Art on the Grid responds to this historic moment. Our lives have been completely transformed by the devastation of a global pandemic and the rise of one of the largest social justice movements in modern history. This spring, Public Art Fund invited 50 emerging New York-based artists to reflect on the current situation as a way to help our communities process the challenges we face together. In different ways, COVID-19 and the renewed urgency over systemic racism that led to protests in our streets and a movement for change have reshaped our day-to-day lives including the ways we interact and experience our city. The exhibition gives a highly visible public platform to artists whose regular creative outlets have been stifled, commissioning them to make new, responsive works of art. Art on the Grid enables the people of New York to reflect, to engage with the city in new ways, and to begin conversations with neighbors, friends, and strangers alike.

The exhibition roster features 50 artists from 18 countries. The artists were prompted to respond to the broad themes of reconnection and renewal, interpreted through their different perspectives and personal narratives. The resulting works draw on their experiences of New York City, its people, and places. They include reflections on moments of spontaneity, intimacy, isolation, loss, healing, and rebuilding, as well as aspirations to create a more just, inclusive, and equitable future. Now more than ever, public art–open, free, and accessible to all–has the ability to serve as a vital tool in the creative and spiritual recovery of our city.

The 50 artworks in Art on the Grid form a decentralized group exhibition on the city’s public transportation and communication infrastructure. Launched in two phases—on June 29 and July 27—the works are housed on 500 bus shelters’ advertising panels and on more than 1,700 wifi kiosks’ digital screens located across the five boroughs. Clusters of works by multiple artists along a bus route are intended to create new art viewing itineraries or simply to enliven the days of those who encounter them fortuitously. The captivating works conceived by these artists re-envision the city itself as an outdoor gallery, reminding us that even in times of adversity, artistic expression is indispensable to the creation of a culture that truly reflects and responds to our contemporary world.

Art on the Grid is curated by Public Art Fund Director & Chief Curator Nicholas Baume, Public Art Fund Curator Daniel S. Palmer, and Public Art Fund Assistant Curator Katerina Stathopoulou.

The first group of ten new artworks unveiled on June 29 are by Firelei Báez, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Rafael Domenech, Chase Hall, Doron Langberg, Sharon Madanes, Emily Mae Smith, Cynthia Talmadge, and Andre D. Wagner.

The second group of 40 new artworks 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.

Seeking to broaden our reach and assemble a group of 50 outstanding emerging artists who collectively reflect the richness and multiplicity of New York City’s artistic community, Public Art Fund’s curatorial team invited 30+ colleagues to submit names for consideration. These nominators include artists, curators, cultural leaders, and luminaries from academia and cultural non-profits. Through this process we were able to rapidly identify an extraordinarily diverse group of artists, while simultaneously deepening connections with peers in the field at a moment when so many of us felt disconnected by the pandemic.

With heartfelt thanks to our remarkable colleagues for their contributions: Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art; Farah Al Qasimi, artist; Miguel Aragon, Assistant Professor, College of Staten Island, The City University of New York; Tauba Auerbach, artist; Jessica Bell Brown, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art; Isolde Brielmaier, Curator-at-Large, International Center of Photography (ICP); A.K. Burns, artist; Emma Enderby, Chief Curator, The Shed; Adriana Farmiga, artist; Andrea Geyer, artist; Jeffrey Gibson, artist; Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem; Hugh Hayden, artist; Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum; Matthew Higgs, Director, White Columns; Shanay Jhaveri, Assistant Curator, International Art, Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Ruba Katrib, Curator, MoMA PS1; Martin Kersels, Director of Graduate Studies in Sculpture, Yale; Thomas Lax, Curator, Department of Media and Performance, Museum of Modern Art; Christopher Y. Lew, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art; Jennifer McGregor, Senior Director of Arts, Education and Programs, Wave Hill; Alan Michelson, artist; Ugo Rondinone, artist; Walid Raad, artist; Xaviera Simmons, artist; Sarah Sze, artist; Kelly Taxter, Barnett and Annalee Newman Curator of Contemporary Art, The Jewish Museum; Mickalene Thomas, artist; Mark Tribe, MFA Department Chair, SVA; Tomas Vu, LeRoy Neiman Professor and Artistic Director, LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, Columbia University; Jasmine Wahi, Holly Block Social Justice Curator, Bronx Museum of the Arts; Hank Willis Thomas, artist.