Art By NYC Public School Students Is On Display In Times Square

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Artworks created by 28 New York City public school students will be seen by thousands of people passing through Times Square as part of a larger exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The artworks will be displayed on Clear Channel’s digital screen in Times Square's Duffy Square for five days starting midnight Thursday, the Times Square Advertising Coalition announced. The display is the result of a collaboration between the coalition and the Met, which curates the yearly exhibit P.S. Art to showcase artwork made in city schools.

"Every year I’m amazed at the talent and creativity from these local student artists. TSAC is honored to take part in displaying their work for the fourth year in a row," Fred Rosenberg, President of The Times Square Advertising Coalition, said in a statement. "There is no better outdoor venue than Times Square to showcase this fabulous art."

Several of the students whose artworks are being displayed in Times Square attended a ceremony Wednesday and got to see their art shown high above the bustling tourist attraction. Two students — Manhattan third-grader Alejandro Cruz-Mercado and Brooklyn twelfth-grader Melonie Knight — spoke at the ceremony about the importance of art in public education.

"Being in a state of adolescence, I am constantly exposed to the terrorizing realities of self-value and the discovery of ones placement in the world," Knight said Wednesday. "With this headspace, I craved an output. Art allows me to communicate the realities I face in healthy, abstract ways."

This year's P.S. Art exhibit debuted June 12 and features the works of 123 public school students from grades pre-k through 12, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit will be on display at The Met's main building on Fifth Avenue and East 82nd Street.

This year's artworks were selected from more than 1,200 submissions, according to a press release. The works were chosen by a jury comprised of members of New York City's art community including staff members of The Met. All of the student artists will be given free admission passes to the museum.

The P.S. Art exhibit will run until October 21, a museum spokeswoman said.

Photos courtesy Tom McCavera