MetroCard artwork on view at new Grand Central exhibition
Nina Boesch, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum
While you can no longer swipe them to ride, New York City’s iconic MetroCard will once again be in the spotlight as part of a new exhibition at Grand Central Terminal next month. Opening March 16 at the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery and Store, “Inspired by MetroCard” shows how artists and designers have transformed the retired transit card into an artistic medium over its three-decade history. Drawing from the museum’s collections and contemporary works, the exhibition features fashion, sculpture, painting, and collage, along with limited-edition collector cards decorated with original artwork.
The MetroCard was retired on December 31, ending the iconic transit payment method that replaced tokens and became a cultural icon after its debut in 1994. Its retirement marked a long-delayed step in the MTA’s transition to the tap-and-go OMNY system.
With its farewell, generations of New Yorkers said goodbye to a familiar part of city life—one that had also served as a canvas for a distinctly New York form of creative expression. The new exhibition now showcases the wide range of artistic possibilities the card inspired.
“The MetroCard was one of the most accessible design objects in NY history,” Regina Shepherd, acting director of the NY Transit Museum, said. “This exhibition captures how artists transformed shared experience into works that are personal, inventive, and unmistakably New York.”
Exhibition highlights include Nina Boesch’s intricate mosaic-like collages made from used and expired MetroCards. She cuts and rearranges the card’s gold, blue, and black pieces to depict city landmarks, architecture, animals, and portraits.
Barbara Kruger’s provocative MetroCards, created for her Performa 2017 Biennial commissions, draw on several iconic works and feature her signature white Helvetica text on a bold red background.
Nina Vishneva reimagines MetroCards as wearable art through her MetroDress project, crafting garments and accessories from used cards.
The exhibition features a MetroCard wedding dress, a handbag, and a necklace made entirely from the transit card.
Thomas McKean uses MetroCards to create collages and small sculptural pieces, including architectural forms and whimsical structures. His piece, “Tenement & Fire Escape,” references NYC’s historic tenement buildings and sits alongside other works from an ongoing series inspired by his family history.
VH McKenzie paints on MetroCards, transforming them into small-scale canvases that highlight distinctly NY subjects such as bridges, pigeons, street scenes, and landmarks.
“It’s no surprise that the MetroCard has inspired artists across disciplines,” Curator Jodi Shapiro said. “What is remarkable is the sheer range of ways artists have transformed it into something entirely new.”
The exhibition will be on view through October 2026. Visitors can explore it in the museum’s Grand Central Gallery and Store, located in the shuttle passage at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Inspired by MetroCard” joins another exhibition at the NY Transit Museum focused on the iconic transit payment method. On December 17, “FAREwell, MetroCard” opened at the museum’s Downtown Brooklyn location. The exhibit traces the card’s history, from its creation and adoption to the technology behind it, and highlights how it became a cultural artifact for millions of New Yorkers.
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