Mayor Mamdani Announces Culmination of ‘From Roots to Arts,’ New York City’s First Artist-in-Residence Program in Public Housing, Celebrating the Cultural Power of NYCHA Communities

NYCHA Residents Celebrate the Close of a Groundbreaking Residency Program That Embedded Artists Within Public Housing Communities to Create Art That Is Theirs.

New York, NY – Tonight, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg, NYC Public Design Commission (PDC) Executive Director Sreoshy Banerjea, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), and Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF) will open City Hall to NYCHA residents, artists, and community partners to mark the culmination of From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA's Cultural Heritage—a 20-month citywide artist-in-residence program that is women-led and women-managed.

The event celebrates community and will feature the five artists selected through From Roots to Arts, who displayed their works at a NYCHA public housing campus. The artists and communities served include Dominique Robinson at Bronx River Houses in The Bronx, Corey Harrison at King Towers Houses in Manhattan, Crystal Clarity at Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn, Tamra Cosby at Astoria Houses in Queens, and Tina Thompson-Pope at Richmond Terrace Houses on Staten Island.

Along with celebrating the creative work, art, and culture of each community, participants will experience a dance performance by Tina Thompson-Pope and learn about the contributions of each artist across all five boroughs, highlighting the unique cultures and mediums explored through the program.

“The artistry of NYCHA residents reflects the full, vibrant tapestry of New York. I’m honored to welcome these artists into City Hall, as leaders whose voices and visions must shape our future. As we fight for a truly affordable and thriving New York, we are centering NYCHA residents across all five boroughs—because a city that works for them is a city that works for all of us,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

“Among the more than 300,000 residents of NYCHA are some of the most creative minds anywhere in the city, as From Roots to Arts shows,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. “I’m delighted to see this collaboration come to life in NYCHA developments across the five boroughs, channeling the culture and telling a vibrant story about these incredible communities.”

"From Roots to Arts is proof that the most powerful public art doesn't start with a design brief — it starts with deep listening," said Public Design Commission Executive Director Sreoshy Banerjea. "When you give artists the time and space to live inside a community, earn trust, and create from within, something emerges that no institutional process could have produced. Two years later, that listening has given us five artists, five communities, and five bodies of work that belong entirely to the people who shaped them. This is a model that deserves to grow — and tonight, we are celebrating the beginning of what that could look like for every NYCHA community across New York City."

"The From Roots to Arts program provided NYCHA residents with a unique and positive outlet for artistic expression for nearly two years," said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. "The program's first-of-its-kind artist-in-residence opportunity gave residents access to an amazing platform to showcase their artwork in ways that enriched the campuses and communities that they call home. We are very thankful to the Public Housing Community Fund and our city partners for helping to bring this spectacular program into the lives of NYCHA residents and showcasing the depth of creativity and cultural expression inherent in NYCHA communities."

“From Roots to Arts is a groundbreaking program, empowering residents to express their creativity while shaping their own stories and the narratives of their communities," Public Housing Community Fund Executive Director Alex Zablocki said. “The program connected incredible artistic talent with cultural vibrancy to uplift the voices of residents and allow creative expression to flourish. Art comes in many forms, and in each borough, artists and the community thoughtfully approached ways that art can bring them together, tell a story, and leave a lasting legacy. From Roots to Arts showcases the ability to use art in community, not just to transform space but to change lives. Congratulations to the five artists, thousands of residents, and community partners for your incredible passion and creativity!”

“From providing opportunities through the Summer Youth Employment Program and Summer Rising to offering safe spaces at our Cornerstone Community Centers, DYCD is committed to supporting NYCHA residents and tapping into their skills and talents,” said NYC Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Sandra Escamilla-Davies. “DYCD is proud to continue this exciting cultural and arts initiative (led by women!) with the Public Housing Community Fund, the Public Design Commission, and our government and community partners. ‘From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA’s Cultural Heritage’ showcases the power of public-private partnerships in beautifying our public spaces and fostering vibrant communities.”

In 2024, the PDC and PHCF launched From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA’s Cultural Heritage, a first-of-its-kind artist-in-residence program designed to enrich and expand narratives of culture, heritage, and art within public housing. The program was built in partnership with the DYCD Cornerstone Program across five NYCHA campuses spanning every borough, offering dedicated art spaces within each development’s community center. Informed by extensive community input, public art programming was crafted around the art mediums identified by NYCHA residents from each community, including creative technology, dance, fashion, music, spoken word, painting, performance, and visual arts.

In June 2024, PDC staff led the selection process alongside agency stakeholders, residents, and neighborhood arts professionals, choosing five artists—one in each community. Their work culminates in five site-specific public art installations or performances, and a short documentary film screening, which debuted at City Hall.

The five selected artists were chosen for their creative excellence as well as for their connection to and investment in the communities they would serve, each bringing a distinct practice shaped by the mediums and themes residents themselves identified. Each artist was selected for their residency through an open call by NYCHA residents, Cornerstone partners, and program stakeholders. The program was guided over two years by NYCHA residents, who served on stakeholder advisory groups, and provided input on programming and direction for each artist. PHCF partnered with the City’s Cornerstone operators to provide a safe space for artists and the community, thought leadership, and co-direction. They include Children’s Arts & Science Workshops, Inc. at Bronx River Houses, SCAN-Harbor at King Towers, Grand Street Settlement at Bushwick Houses, HANAC Inc. at Astoria Houses, and the JCC of Staten Island at Richmond Terrace Houses.

Each work, developed through months of collaboration between artists and residents, will remain as a lasting public asset that reflects the culture, stories, and creative vision of the communities that shaped it. While several artists realized their work through permanent installations, others led community-based performance projects and have since completed murals to ensure the impact their programming had within the community centers is also reflected in the exterior spaces of the developments. Across the five NYCHA campuses, thousands of residents participated in art programming weekly over the last 20 months.

Alongside the installations, a short recap film captures moments from across all five residency sites, highlighting workshops, performances, and the relationships built throughout the 20-month program. Managed by Kemi Karim, Senior Manager of Art and Culture at the Public Housing Community Fund, the program’s journey was documented by Karim with the support of the African Peach Arts Coalition, preserving key moments of creativity, dialogue, and community exchange. The film premieres at tonight’s Culmination Event and will continue to be shared as the installations open this spring.

Through the pilot of From Roots to Arts, the program demonstrated that when artists are embedded within public housing communities and given the time and space to collaborate with residents, meaningful cultural exchange and creative leadership emerge. The residency highlighted the depth of talent, history, and storytelling already present within NYCHA communities while strengthening connections between artists, residents, and neighborhood institutions. The program’s participatory model offers a framework for how artists, residents, and city agencies can work together to expand arts access and cultural visibility across public housing communities citywide.

This program was part of NYCHA’s Connected Communities program, which focuses on transforming open and community spaces through public-private partnerships. The program’s efforts were based on participatory planning and design and strive to enhance physical and social connections between residents and their communities.

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ABOUT THE PUBLIC DESIGN COMMISSION

The Public Design Commission (PDC) has jurisdiction over permanent structures, landscape architecture, and art proposed on or over City-owned property. Its mission is to advocate for innovative, sustainable, and equitable design of public spaces and civic structures, with the goal of improving the public realm and enhancing services for all New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Since 1983, PDC has recognized well-designed public projects with its Annual Awards for Excellence in Design. Learn more at nyc.gov/designcommission.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITY FUND

The Public Housing Community Fund is an independent not-for-profit organization that creates and leverages resources and relationships to enhance the opportunities and quality of life for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and their communities while uplifting the importance of public housing in New York City. www.communityfund.nyc.

About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in North America, was created in 1934 to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. NYCHA is home to 1 in 16 New Yorkers, providing affordable housing to 511,384 authorized residents through public housing and Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) programs as well as Section 8 housing. NYCHA has 177,565 apartments in 2,410 buildings across 335 conventional public housing and PACT developments. In addition, NYCHA connects residents to critical programs and services from external and internal partners, with a focus on economic opportunity, youth, seniors, and social services. With a housing stock that spans all five boroughs, NYCHA is a city within a city.

ABOUT THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a network of community-based organizations to provide services and programs that support New Yorkers and strengthen communities. DYCD’s Cornerstone Program funds year-round programming at community centers located within NYCHA developments across all five boroughs, offering after-school, evening, and weekend programming for youth, adults, seniors, and families. Learn more at nyc.gov/dycd.