Fifty pieces of art made by New York City public school students, some as young as pre-K, lit up a 2,028-square-foot digital screen in the middle of Times Square for two weeks this summer, as first reported by QNS.
The works ran on the Cube at Duffy Square from June 16 through June 30, part of P.S. Art 2026, the annual showcase of student work that NYC Public Schools and the nonprofit Studio in a School have been mounting together for 24 years. The 50 digital pieces were pulled from a larger group of 125 works on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which were themselves chosen from nearly 1,000 submissions reviewed by a panel that included staff from The Met.
The art was not abstract or safe. Students worked in paint, sculpture, paper collage and pencil, and the themes ran from self-portraits to political activism to emotional reflections on what it feels like to be a kid growing up in this city.
NYC Public Schools and Studio in a School held a grand unveiling in Times Square on June 16, with students, friends and family gathered for a short ceremony before the 11 a.m. reveal. The crowd applauded when the screen went live. The display was supported by the Times Square Advertising Coalition, Outfront Media and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
One of the students who spoke was Ava Jett, a third grader at P.S. 133, the Bellerose School of Excellence in Bellerose, Queens. Her art teacher had asked the class to make an image of someone important to them, so Ava made a portrait of her mother out of paper. It was the first competition she had ever entered, and she told the crowd it gave her butterflies.
“I was really scared people wouldn’t like what I made or that I wasn’t good enough,” Ava said. “But I didn’t give up.”
She said her parents and teachers kept telling her to believe in herself, and that pushed her to enter anyway. “I won in a way that I never, ever dreamed of,” she said to the crowd. “I learned that even when you are scared, you should always try your best. Most of all, I know that using my God-given gifts will always bring great things into my life.”
The whole thing is a juried exhibition. This is the 24th year of P.S. Art and the 19th time it has landed at The Met, where the 125 selected works are hanging in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, viewable with regular museum admission. The pieces come from students across all five boroughs and from District 75, the citywide district that serves students with disabilities.
Sara Egan, the educator in charge of teaching and learning at The Met, told the students the city gets to see itself through their eyes. “Your art gives us a new perspective on the world,” Egan said. “It’s so important to see through the eyes of New York City students so we can learn what’s important to you, what matters to our city and where we’re going in the future.”
Paul Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the arts office at NYC Public Schools, said the timing lined up with the World Cup and the country’s 250th anniversary, both drawing crowds to the city. “We’ve got more people coming here than any other time of the year just to celebrate art and culture,” he told the students. “Your voice is represented here in this public square.”
Maggie Bordonaro, chief program officer at Studio in a School, said arts funding across the city is getting cut, and shows like this one are part of keeping visual arts education in front of every student. “If you have not visited the exhibit yet, run, don’t walk,” Bordonaro said. “I guarantee you’ll feel inspired by the power of the young artists’ self-expression and reaffirm your own belief in the importance of nurturing their time.”
Mitchell Schwartz, chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition and vice president of government affairs at Outfront Media, framed the display as part of the district’s brand. “Our mission is to ensure that Times Square remains the most colorful and vibrant commercial district on the planet,” Schwartz said. “That’s where our amazing New York City students come in.”
The Times Square run has ended, but the P.S. Art 2026 works are also set to be exhibited at the Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal Art Gallery, at 625 8th Ave. and 40th Street near the 9th Avenue end of the terminal. According to QNS, the date and time for that showing are still to be determined.
Featured image: Photo courtesy of Tom McCavera
