See Grand Central’s immersive gallery and love letter to New York City
“Dear New York” puts the faces, stories and soul of the city on display in an immersive experience in Grand Central Station.
Humans of New York, the viral social media project documenting the lives of every day New Yorkers, is taking over the historic Grand Central Station in New York City in a “first-of-its-kind immersive experience.”
Created by Humans of New York’s Brandon Stanton,” the exhibit titled “Dear New York,” after Stanton’s new book of the same name, has transformed Grand Central in Manhattan a “sweeping visual love letter to the people of New York.”
The exhibit aims to highlight the “resilience and humanity of the city” at a time when “many New Yorkers are feeling the strain of rising costs, division, and isolation.” The art installation, described as the largest the city as seen in decades, opened on Monday, Oct. 6 and will run through Oct. 19. It is free and open to the public.
“New York is humanity itself,” Stanton said in a statement. “Every type of person is here—every ethnicity, every culture, every religion, every viewpoint. And somehow, despite the honking, the yelling, the shoving, we find a way to make it work. In a world that seems to be on fire, New York provides a reason for hope.”
50-foot projections, 150 digital screens
For the exhibit, Grand Central Terminal and its subway station have been completely cleared of advertising and replaced with art “for the first time in living memory,” according to a press release, with more than 150 digital screens displaying portraits and stories from Stanton’s Humans of New York archive.
Fifty-foot projections with stories of New Yorkers are displayed in the station’s Main Concourse as music composed in collaboration with The Juilliard School plays in the background. David Korins, the Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated designer known for “Hamilton,” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” serves as creative director of experience for “Dear New York.”
Get a peek at the exhibit in the video at the top of this story.
The MTA is “excited” to host the exhibit.
“This beautiful art installation transforms the terminal into a photographic display of New Yorkers telling their stories from all walks of life – serving as a powerful reminder of our shared humanity,” MTA Director of Commercial Ventures Mary John said in a statement.
Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall, meanwhile, is hosting a community art showcase featuring emerging New York City artists alongside works from more than 600 New York City Public School students, selected through an open call.
What is Humans of New York?
Humans of New York, created in 2010 by Stanton, is a collection of 10,000 portraits and stories of ordinary New Yorkers from all five boroughs. The social media project has inspired thousands of spin offs across the world, while Stanton’s own work has been turned into four bestselling books.
The project, over the last 15 years, has also been used to raise more than $10 million for various NYC causes and charities. “Dear New York” will be no different, with all proceeds from the book being donated to NYC charities, minus the cost of the art installation.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
