Community Commissions, an NYC DOT Art initiative, is bringing five new temporary, site-responsive public artworks to life across the five boroughs. Each public artwork will utilize NYC DOT infrastructure, like medians and sidewalks, to create sculptures and asphalt art murals.
The commissioned works include Public Access on Staten Island, Aunties in Manhattan, Limes in Brooklyn, Weaving the Future: A Vessel of Water, Roots, and Community in the Bronx, and About a Living Culture in Queens.
“Each of these five installations uses our streets as canvasses to encapsulate New York City and the resilience of its residents,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Community Commissions is a cornerstone initiative of NYC DOT Art, and I thank our talented artists, and dedicated community partners, for their unwavering commitment to bringing these projects (and our streets) to life!”
📍Manhattan
🎨 Aunties
🧑🎨 Fitgi Saint-Louis
“It’s a true honor to represent Manhattan in the NYC DOT Art Community Commission cohort and to have this work mounted in my own neighborhood. Accessible public art is vital in creating inspiration in our urban landscape and affirming in reflecting our daily lives. I chose to create a piece highlighting a collective of women and their integral role within our community of Harlem.”
📍Brooklyn
🎨 Limes
🧑🎨 Alumbra
“Placemaking is about communities turning a space into a place they call their own. When we use light as a tool to transform space, we unlock the power to create safer, more vibrant, and welcoming places for everyone.”
📍The Bronx
🎨 Weaving the Future: A Vessel of Water, Roots, and Community
🧑🎨 Yafatou Sarr
“This sculpture honors the cultural traditions of Gambia while celebrating the creativity and resilience of Bronx mothers and children. Through weaving, crochet, and shared storytelling, we’ve created more than a sculpture—we’ve built a symbol of nourishment, connection, and community pride. I’m deeply grateful to collaborate with Concourse House and bring West African heritage to life in this vibrant public space.”
📍Queens
🎨 A Living Culture
🧑🎨 IMAGINE
“This sculpture is a homage to the Himalayan diaspora’s living traditions. Through the interplay of light, form, and script, it creates a contemplative space that honors ancestral roots while embracing the diverse narratives of Jackson Heights.”
📍 Staten Island
🎨 Public Access
🧑🎨 Mollie Hosmer-Dillard
“Taking on an NYC DOT Art Community Commission is like channeling a lightning bolt of momentum and creativity: It’s a high-stakes opportunity to make an artwork devoted to the city’s commons – an artwork that becomes part of the living fabric of the neighborhood – while also working to reflect the culture of a local partner organization. Honoring and synthesizing those concerns revitalized my artistic practice.”
All Community Commissions remain up for 11 months. Each artist was selected via the initiative’s open call that required artistic merit and proposals that demonstrated connections to the organization’s mission and the site’s cultural context.
These five artworks will mark the first time Community Commissions returns since 2020.