I know, I know, we try to avoid Times Square at all costs. Yet, a unique digital public art program is drawing even locals to Times Square to see what’s so magical about Midnight Moment.
Midnight Moment is the world’s largest and longest-running digital public art program that transforms nearly 100 of Times Square‘s iconic billboards into a public canvas for contemporary art.
The program has been around since 2012, yet it’s recently been receiving a lot of attention after recirculating on social media.
Contemporary art replaces ads on 92 synchronized electronic billboards from 11:57pm – 12am between 41st to 49th Streets, 364 nights a year. Since its debut, work from more than 100 contemporary artists has been displayed.
This winter season will present creations from artists including Laurie Simmons (December), Yoshi Sodeoka (January), and Trenton Doyle Hancock (February). Expect AI-generated vignettes confronting gender roles, New York skyline collages from a birds-eye-view, and children’s book cartoons that form mounds of “discarded humanity.”
“I was used to collaborating with toymakers, makeup artists, body painters, and Photoshop editors, as well as sourcing images from the Picture Library,” says Simmons, whose work is currently on display during the month of December. “In July 2022 I started using AI text-to-image models, which I began calling ‘My Collaborators’, as the images we made together fit so seamlessly into the continuum of all my work. I love the way this new work finds a space between painting, photography, drawing and sculpture.”
So if you ever find yourself near Times Square in the evening, rather than ensuring your route takes you anywhere but Times Square, maybe explore the magic of Midnight Moment and see just how special this art program is as the screens count down.
You can find more details about the full lineup on Times Square’s official website.