Art Under the Elevated 2022
RISE commissioned artists to create public art installations in 2022 to activate the public space under and adjacent to the elevated A line train tracks in Rockaway, Queens.
RISE solicited proposals for the 2022 Art Underneath the Elevated initiative, to commission three artists to envision, produce, and exhibit temporary public art installations underneath or adjacent to the elevated A-train in Far Rockaway, Queens.
We are excited to announce that the Selection Committee has chosen the following projects which will be installed in 2022:
• Eric Rieger - Laura
• Zaq Landsberg - "A" Train Sea Serpent
• Kristy McCarthy - Rockaway in Flight
This exciting initiative will use art and creative placemaking as a catalyst to temporarily transform and animate this fragmented and underutilized roadway into a vibrant and active public space. Through this initiative, RISE hopes to inspire the community to re-imagine the potential of Rockaway Freeway to reconnect the Peninsula and serve as an adaptable civic space.
Project Background
Located below the elevated A-line subway tracks, the five mile long Rockaway Freeway currently acts as a de facto community corridor for bikers and pedestrians. As part of our Project Underway Initiative, RISE has been working since 2012, in partnership with residents, local stakeholders and city agencies, to re-envision this much needed, yet underperforming and dangerous underpass into a safe and inviting public space that has the potential to serve as an important cross-peninsula connection for pedestrians and bikers.
More info about the artists and their projects below
Art Under the Elevated artist commissions are made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works Program, and the Surdna Foundation/Hester St's Radical Imagination for Racial Justice Initiative.