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(CNN Español) — In many countries, bus stops can be boring, full of advertisements and without color. The city of New York changes this panorama with the exhibition “Art on the grid” (“Art in the grid”, in reference to the grid of the map of the bus stops in the 5 districts of the city) in which a wide and diverse list of emerging artists, present various images created during the covid-19 pandemic.
Among these 50 artists, there are 3 young people of Latin origin: María Berro, from Colombia, and Lucía Hierro and Firelei Báez, from the Dominican Republic. Báez opened the doors of his studio in New York with a video call to talk about the art piece he developed for this exhibition.
The exhibition will be revealed in two parts. The first is already at 100 bus stops and the second, which will be released from July 27, will show the remaining 40 pieces by the artists.
On display at bus stops, these works of art serve as a reminder of New York City’s irrepressible creative spirit, which is transformed into a vast open-air gallery at no cost to passersby.
What does this piece express? Firelei Báez, who was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, and who moved to the United States with her family when she was a child, says: «The figure in the work is a girl as I imagined one of the many women who have been attacked in the United States. There is currently a crisis of about 70,000 missing black women in the United States and this is not seen in the news. What I am looking for is a prayer of love towards them where I tell them that we love them, that we miss them and that this is a space for them to rest and feel surrounded by love. In her hands, the girl is holding a book by Octavia Butler, a visionary black author.
«On rest and resistance, Because we love you -to all those stolen from among us-» («In rest and resistance, because we love you -to all those who have left from among us-«) – Firelei Báez. (Photo courtesy NYGO)
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Under the title of “On rest and resistance, Because we love you -to all those stolen from among us-” (“In rest and resistance, because we love you -to all those who have departed from among us-“), Firelei Báez assures that the title is very direct: «In one of the last chapters of that book by Octavia Butler, she has the emphasis that we cannot resist and cannot continue the battle if we do not heal ourselves and we are in mind and body. Literal ‘Rest and resistance’ (‘In rest and resistance’). You need moments to have self-healing ”.
Firelei Báez captures her origin and Dominican roots in her various pieces. «For me it is an impulse to put my roots in a global context, what happens many times in Latin America is that when they see the Caribbean, it is usually in isolation, distant and fun. What I mean is that the Caribbean is the root or the seed of modernity, especially in the new world. Latin America and the world owe much to the economic developments of the Caribbean. That is my pride, in the Caribbean people have mixed and marked the beginning of modernity. I love that and I want to highlight it every time I do a work ”.
The list of the 50 artists in development that are part of this exhibition includes Firelei Báez, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Rafael Domenech, Chase Hall, Doron Langberg, Sharon Madanes, Emily Mae Smith, Cynthia Talmadge and Andre D. Wagner, among others.
In case you are not in New York City and want to experience the «Art on the grid» exhibition up close, you can visit it by clicking here.
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