Photo by Adrian Wilson / @plannedalism

Street artist Adrian Wilson decided to mark the momentousness of yesterday with a special NYC-themed tribute to our new President. At the 46th Street subway station in Astoria, he used stickers to change the “46th St” mosaic to read “46th Joe” with a change to the directional below to read “45th Out.” In his Instagram post, Wilson wrote, “Total cost including 4 train rides, $12. Anyone could have done it. But I had to do it. For Joe.”

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Photos by Alexandre Ayer / @diversitypics for the Garment District Alliance

The Garment District Alliance has unveiled a new public art exhibit in the Broadway plaza between 39th and 40th Streets. Called Prismatica, it’s made up of 25, six-foot-tall pivoting prisms that reflect the colors of the rainbow and turn the street a “glimmering winter kaleidoscope.” The piece was created by RAW Design in collaboration with ATOMIC3 and is on view through January 30th.

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Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday unveiled the “New York Arts Revival” initiative, a plan to bring art and culture back to the state after the coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the industry to a standstill. As part of a public-private partnership, the effort will bring a series of pop-up performances and arts events across New York starting February 4. According to the governor, who made the announcement during his multi-day State of the State address, the events will feature performers like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, Hugh Jackman, and others. “We will not let the curtain fall on their careers or the future of our cities,” Cuomo said.

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All photos © Brake Through Media

American sculptor Tom Fruin has brought his famous “Icon” series to Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District. The installation, which is a welcome dose of color in the cold winter months, consists of one large “house” and seven smaller “satellite homes,” all made in the artist’s signature stained glass-esque design. During the day, the sun shines through the glass, casting colorful refelections, and at night, the pieces project multi-colored LED lights onto the cobblestone plaza.

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The Museum of the City of New York opened an outdoor photo installation this summer titled “New York Responds,” Photo courtesy of MCNY

The New York City Council on Thursday passed legislation permitting cultural institutions to use public outdoor space for events and performances. Sponsored by Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the bill requires the city to create the “Open Culture” program, modeled after the city’s successful outdoor dining initiative, which lets restaurants set up seating on sidewalks and some streets closed to cars. The program is set to be established by March 1, 2021.

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Photo: John Moore, Circular Space Photography

The voices of New Yorkers affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic will be heard daily as part of a new program installed in Greenwich Village. In recognition of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, the New York City AIDS Memorial will launch a sound-based installation composed of speeches, poetry, music, and readings of texts related to the history of the epidemic. The hour-long program, titled Hear Me: Voices of the Epidemic, will be broadcast from the memorial nightly at 7 p.m. for the month of December, along with a new lighting installation.

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Photos courtesy of Cameron Blaylock

A new public art installation opened on Monday in the Flatiron Public Plaza as part of the neighborhood’s annual “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” holiday programming. Designed by firm Studio Cooke John, the Point of Action installation consists of nine metal pavilions surrounded by six-foot concentric circles with ropes that part, creating a “spotlight” and allowing passersby to connect with one another. The firm’s work was selected as this year’s winning design by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute.

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Photo by Peter Cooper

The Public Theater will debut this week a new art installation that honors Black American lives lost to police brutality. Starting November 11, the facade of the East Village theater will display “SAY THEIR NAMES,” a visual exhibit that includes at least 2,200 names of Black people killed at the hands of police between 2013 and 2020. Curated by Garlia Cornelia Jones, the projection covers the entire building at 425 Lafayette and features work by ten artists.

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Photos: Andy Romer Photography

From 1876 to 1882, the Statue of Liberty’s torch-holding arm was on view in Madison Square Park as a way to garner enthusiasm for the project before it arrived from France. Nearly 150 years later, the torch has returned, reimagined for a different purpose. Commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Abigail DeVille’s “Light of Freedom“ sculpture includes a 13-foot-high torch encased in scaffolding and filled with a bell and the arms of mannequins. The work aims to reflect the current struggles New York City is facing with the pandemic, protests, and political climate while acknowledging the way in which conflict can create change.

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Photo Credit: Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance

The last remaining farmhouse in Manhattan will explore a new side of its over 200-year history with an art exhibit. Inwood’s landmarked Dyckman Farmhouse Museum on Tuesday will open the exhibition Unspoken Voices: Honoring the Legacy of Black America, which will highlight the history of the enslaved and free Black residents that lived and worked at the farm. Unspoken Voices, which coincides with the museum’s reopening, includes work by five local artists who hope to bring these previously untold stories to light.

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