News and Press Releases

                   

For Immediate Release: January 28, 2026

DCLA: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov
SCA: Kevin Ortiz, 718-472-8559, kortiz2@nycsca.org

PUBLIC ART FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: AT THE START OF A NEW SEMESTER, NYC DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS’ PERCENT FOR ART PROGRAM AND NYC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY’S PUBLIC ART FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS CELEBRATE FIVE NEW INSTALLATIONS

Five new public art installations completed in 2025 will greet students and teachers returning to school as classes resume for the start of the NYC Public Schools spring semester

Images of each art installation are available here.

Jing Wei, “Recess,” 2025, printed aluminum composite and porcelain enamel, P.S. 5 Addition, Staten Island. Photo by Alan Tansey.

NEW YORK, NY— The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), in partnership with the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), is delighted to announce five new, permanent art projects completed in NYC public schools in 2025: “Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams” by artist Daru Jung Hyang Kim for the new P.S. 26 Addition in Queens; “Ode to the Wild” by artist Jessica Maffia for the new Janice Blanchard Campus on Staten Island;  “Novella” by artist Therman Statom for the new P.S. 160 Addition in Queens; “Recess” by artist Jing Wei for the new P.S. 5 Addition on Staten Island; and “Metamorfosis: Present Future Flow” by artist Glen Wilson for the new P.S. 105 Addition in the Bronx. Each artwork is a permanent installation, carefully integrated into the architecture of newly constructed New York City public schools. These commissions provide thoughtfully designed, engaging environments that enrich the educational experience for students, families, and the wider school community.

The artworks were commissioned by DCLA’s Percent for Art program, SCA’s Public Art for Public Schools, and NYC Public Schools. Their design is the result of close collaboration with project architects, community members, and local arts and culture professionals. The projects will join the more than 2,000 artworks in the NYC Public Schools official art collection, which dates back to the late 1800s and features such esteemed artists as Romare Bearden, Donna Dennis, Jeffrey Gibson, Hans Hoffmann, Faith Ringgold, Sarah Sze, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

“We believe every student deserves access to art that inspires imagination and possibility,” said DCLA Assistant Commissioner for Public Art Kendal Henry. “Public art in public schools plays a powerful role in shaping how students experience their learning environments, and through our Percent for Art program, we are supporting vibrant, thoughtfully designed installations that reflect the creativity of our city and the communities they serve. I applaud the remarkable artists whose work will inspire students, educators, and families for generations to come.”

“Public art is an essential part of how we build inspiring, student-centered schools,” said New York City School Construction Authority President and CEO Nina Kubota. “These five new installations reflect our commitment to creating learning environments that spark curiosity, celebrate creativity, and honor the communities they serve. By integrating art directly into our school buildings, we are ensuring that students begin each day in spaces that affirm their imagination, identity, and potential.”

“After years of careful design, fabrication and installation, it is such a joy to see these brilliant artist’s unique and creative artworks being experienced by students,” said Public Art for Public Schools Director Tania Duvergne. “Each of the five artists worked in a different medium and explored a unique idea—from upcycling to interdisciplinary learning to celebrating local history—while staying deeply attuned to their school communities, allowing students to see something of themselves and their stories reflected in the art. It is incredibly gratifying to see these beautiful new artworks provide students with moments of wonder, curiosity and inspiration in their everyday school environment.”

 “Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams,” P.S. 26 Addition in Queens
This installation by artist Daru Jung Hyang Kim for the lobby of the new P.S. 26 Addition in Queens features a painted collage that is digitally printed across five tall glass panels with twenty textured, hand-painted, and hand-blown glass disks. The work represents the artist’s fantastical interpretation of familiar forms in nature—abstracted flowers, seeds, and sunbursts. For Jung Hyang Kim, the plants and seeds in these parks are symbolic of the students’ dreams, ambitions, creativity, and emotional development throughout their primary education. Positioned along the back wall of the lobby, the artwork greets visitors as they first enter the school.

“Ode to the Wild,” Janice Blanchard Campus on Staten Island
Artist Jessica Maffia’s expansive mixed-media mural for the lobby of the new Janice Blanchard Campus on Staten Island celebrates the history and ecology of Main Creek, a vital natural habitat that lies to the east of the school. The artist depicted Main Creek from a bird’s eye view using upcycled materials. Aluminum scraps set in blue resin sparkle like sunlight on the surface of rushing water. The creek stretches across panels made of birch wood. Students can peer into each jewel box-like porthole to discover a plant or animal native to Staten Island. 

“Novella,” P.S. 160 Addition in Queens
Created by artist Therman Statom for the lobby of the new P.S. 160 Addition in Queens, “Novella” is a whimsical glass artwork with colorful, hand-blown discs that float across the entryway, representing school subjects and extracurricular interests that enrich students’ lives. Anchoring the composition is a screen-printed portrait of the school’s namesake, Walter Francis Bishop Sr., a Jamaican-born composer and musician. Spontaneous musical notes, mathematical equations, and hand-drawn markings are scattered across the composition, echoing the improvisational energy of jazz and conveying the exploratory nature of learning.

“Recess,” P.S. 5 Addition on Staten Island
“Recess,” located in the lobby of the new P.S. 5 Addition on Staten Island, is a site-specific mural created by artist Jing Wei. Vibrant printed panels span the upper register of the lobby walls, depicting a surreal landscape where people of all ages and abilities are joyfully engaged in a variety of activities—reading, drawing, exploring, playing sports, and sharing stories under a canopy of trees. To develop the artwork’s imagery, the artist researched the Prince’s Bay neighborhood, drawing inspiration from the plants and flowers in local gardens and Arbutus Woods Park, as well as from the shoreline views of Wolfe’s Pond and Huguenot Beach.

“Metamorfosis: Present Future Flow,” P.S. 105 Addition in the Bronx
Artist Glen Wilson’s “Metamorphosis: Present Future Flow” is a site-specific artwork created for the lobby of the new P.S. 105 Addition in the Bronx. Spanning a curved wall, the vibrant glass mosaic and printed aluminum board installation weaves together themes of culture, community, and the cosmos. On the left side, a hand gently places a turntable stylus onto a record, while on the right, another hand moves a royal chess piece—celebrating two cherished neighborhood pastimes: music and chess. Photographic relief elements ripple over the mosaic’s surface, creating a dynamic collage of Bronx architecture and streetscapes—brick walls, graffiti, train tracks, and street signs—interspersed with cosmic images.

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About the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is dedicated to supporting and strengthening New York City’s vibrant cultural life. DCLA works to promote and advocate for quality arts programming and to articulate the contribution made by the cultural community to the City’s vitality. The Department represents and serves nonprofit cultural organizations involved in the visual, literary, and performing arts; public-oriented science and humanities institutions including zoos, botanical gardens, and historic and preservation societies; and creative artists at all skill levels who live and work within the City’s five boroughs. DCLA also provides donated materials for arts programs offered by the public schools and cultural and social service groups, and commissions permanent works of public art at City-funded construction projects throughout the five boroughs. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/culture.

About Public Art for Public Schools
Public Art for Public Schools (PAPS), a division of the New York City School Construction Authority, is the only program in the country dedicated exclusively to public art in pre-K – 12 schools. As stewards of New York City Public Schools’ public art collection, PAPS oversees more than 2,000 artworks, dating from the late 19th century to the present, installed in schools throughout the five boroughs. PAPS preserves and celebrates this rich visual legacy through conservation, educational outreach and research. For newly constructed school buildings, the program commissions contemporary site-specific artworks that enhance learning environments, foster critical thinking, spark curiosity and inspire creativity. Together these initiatives offer students the joy and transformative potential of art as an essential part of their educational experience. For more information visit www.nycsca.org/publicartforpublicschools. 

About the NYC School Construction Authority
The School Construction Authority's (SCA) mission is to design and construct safe, attractive and environmentally sound public schools for children throughout the many communities of New York City. We are dedicated to building and modernizing schools in a responsible, cost-effective manner while achieving the highest standards of excellence in safety, quality and integrity. Established by the New York State Legislature in December 1988, the SCA has provided over 300,000 new school seats to New York City students, and protected, repaired and upgraded over 1,800 schools in over 1,400 school buildings with over 12,500 capital improvement projects. For more information visit www.nycsca.org and follow us on social media.