New York City Announces 2024-2025 Public Artists In Residence

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs has announced the city's four 2024-25 Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) as part of a visionary program that places artists-in-residence with city agencies to tackle some of the most pressing civic issues facing New York City.

The artists, selected through an open call conducted earlier this year, will be embedded within the Administration for Children's Services, the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Resources Administration, and the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice. Over the next 12 months, the artists will bring their creative practices to bear on a range of public challenges, including discrimination; youth in detention; increasing utilization of the Fair Fares program for discount public transit; and racial equity. Each artist receives $40,000 stipend, dedicated workspace within their respective agencies, and ongoing technical assistance and support as they develop and implement their public facing art projects.

“Artists working across all disciplines share a common gift of helping us to see ourselves and our society with new eyes,” said NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “PAIR is an extraordinary program that taps into the power of artists to bring radically different perspectives to the longstanding, seemingly intractable issues that city agencies are tasked with addressing. I can't wait to see the ways these new PAIRs work within their agencies, bringing their skills as creative problem solvers to everything from making our city more affordable through the Fair Fares program, to exploring ways to reduce discrimination experienced by residents. No matter which agency they're working with, they'll be on the front lines, finding new ways for our government to respond to the people it serves.”

2024-2025 NYC Public Artists in Residence

Gabriel Barcia-Colombo is a mixed media artist whose work focuses on collections, memorialization and the act of leaving one's digital imprint for the next generation. His work takes the form of video sculptures, immersive performances, large scale public video artworks and vending machines that sell human DNA. Gabe's work has been featured at LACMA, the V&A Museum, The Neon Museum of Las Vegas, TED, Times Square and Grand Central Station. He is also the co-director of ITP at NYU where he teaches classes such as Video Sculpture. 

At HRA, Barcia-Colombo will focus on the city's Fair Fares program, which subsidizes low income New Yorkers' public transit costs, collaborating with agency partners to bring awareness of the program to the public and increase dialogue around transportation equity.  

 

"Over 3 million New Yorkers take public transit everyday. The subways and buses are the lifeblood of our city, yet many people can't afford to ride them everyday,” said Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, 2024-25 PAIR with the NYC Human Resources Administration. “How can we make visible the human stories in our city that are often invisible, especially when it comes to transportation needs and equity?  I'm specifically interested in working with the Human Resources Administration to artistically get the word out about the Fair Fares program, a City program created to help New Yorkers with low incomes manage their transportation costs. Through public installations, performances and happenings I'm hoping to showcase stories of transit in NYC and illuminate the possibilities for even more fair fares."  

“DSS-HRA is incredibly excited to begin collaborating with our Public Artist-in-Residence, Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, to explore creative and compelling approaches to not only raising awareness about the Fair Fares transit discount, but the critical importance of transit equity in New York City, said HRA Administrator Scott French. “Affordable access to mass transit is about more than just hopping in a subway or bus, it's about expanding opportunities for undeserved communities and ensuring that all New Yorkers can afford to get to their job, see a doctor, or visit friends and family without being forced to sacrifice elsewhere. We look forward to working with Gabriel to advance our goals on the matter and expand the reach of Fair Fares.”   

Singha Hon is a visual artist and illustrator from New York City. Through painting, illustration, and sculpture, her work is inspired by nature, dreams, community, and mythology, and the many threads that weave us all together. She has worked with organizations such as Womanly Magazine, The ACLU, People's Paper Co-Op, and O+ Positive and the W.O.W. Project. She has worked as a teaching artist with The W.O.W. Project through their storefront residency and through the Creatives Rebuild New York program. Her murals and installations exist across New York, including in downtown Manhattan and in Kingston, NY.

AT MOERJ, Hon will work alongside staff to elevate the understanding of racial equity, and amplify the mission of the office to advance equity across New York City. She will help showcase the city's efforts at transformative change, and increase the visibility of communities facing disparities by promoting racial justice across all boroughs.

“My interest in this residency at the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice is rooted in curiosity around the concept of thriving – a fundamental value in MOERJ's mission statement, and a word often used to describe aspirations for people, communities, and gardens,” said Singha Hon, 2024-25 PAIR with the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice. “What does it mean for everyone to thrive, free of injustice, in this moment? What role can artists like myself play in the imagination work and the storytelling of the past and present, to get to a future where everyone can thrive? I am deeply excited and honored to begin this journey with MOERJ as I explore the roles a creative practice can play in planting the seeds towards a future where everyone can blossom and flourish.”

"Through art, we aim to spark dialogue, challenge systemic inequalities, and foster a more inclusive and empathetic city for all," said NYC Mayor's Office of Equity & Racial Justice Chief Content Officer Ashley Ross-Teel. "This partnership with DCLA's PAIR program and our artist-in-residence, Singha Hon, is an opportunity not only to encourage creativity but also to deepen our city's understanding of the critical issues around racial and gender equity and how these challenges shape the lives of New Yorkers. By amplifying the voices of those who have long been overlooked, we bring their stories and lived experiences to the forefront, sparking conversations that drive real, transformative change. Art has the power to inspire action, and through this collaboration, we hope to expand how people think about equity."

Caitlyn McCain is an award-winning, black-mixed-queer NYC-based artist, educator and actor. With a background in drama and Applied Theatre, Caitlyn believes theatre is the most powerful tool for connection, self-discovery, and social change. Caitlyn has worked with diverse populations including K-12 students across NYC, families in transitional housing, LGBTQIA+ communities and neuro-divergent communities to practice creative critical thinking and meaning making through theatre. Caitlyn's work aims to empower people of all ages to dream, to imagine and to rehearse new realities, making space for a more just and compassionate world.  

McCain will work within CCHR to explore both longstanding challenges and potential solutions in addressing and reducing discrimination across NYC, using the NYC Human Rights Law as a foundation to create meaningful dialogue and understanding between different communities.

 

“I am deeply excited and grateful to partner with CCHR as their Public Artist in Residence this year,” said Caitlyn McCain, 2024-25 PAIR with the NYC Commission on Human Rights. “As we begin, I find myself equally energized by the idea of exploring how an applied theatre project might build bridges, create meaningful dialogue, and promote understanding between communities impacted by discrimination and CCHR; and how this collaboration will shape me as an artist. My hope is that my art can help make NYC's Human Rights Law and CCHR's resources more accessible to those who, otherwise, may not have found a connection to the Commission.”  

"Now more than ever, it is critical that we fight for a city where New Yorkers can live, work, and thrive free from discrimination and bias," said Commissioner and Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights Annabel Palma. "The Commission on Human Rights is excited to partner with the Department of Cultural Affairs and our PAIR Artist Caitlyn McCain, as she explores how to use art and creative expression as a tool to reduce discrimination while unifying our city.”

Immanuel Oni is a first-generation Nigerian-American artist and space doula living in New York City, originally from Houston, TX. He believes art is not about what he is making but who he is making it for. His work explores loss, liberation, and its deep connection with place. He is a former Director of Community Design at the New York City's Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and an Adjunct Professor at Parsons the New School for Design. He holds a Dual Bachelor's in Science degree in Biology and Psychology from the University of Houston and a Master's in Architecture degree from Parsons New School of Design. He is the co-founder and Creative Director of Liminal, a non-profit that works at the intersection of art, unity, and space.  

Oni will work within ACS's Division of Youth and Family Justice, partnering with youth in detention and work with them collaboratively and contribute to lasting positive change in the lives of young people through healing, self-discovery, and advocacy.

“My residency with the Division of Youth and Family Justice involves highlighting youth and staff stories, narratives, and experiences often unseen or overlooked within the carceral system. The aim is to utilize my art and spatial practice as a medium for liberation, and bridge the gap between justice-involved spaces and the public-at-large,” said Immanuel Oni, 2024-25 PAIR with the Administration for Children's Services.

 

“We are honored and thrilled that the ACS juvenile detention programs have been selected for the Public Artists in Residence Program and to host artist, Immanuel Oni.  We are excited for Oni to enliven the detention environment through his innovative approach to repurposing underutilized spaces.  We look forward to the artist collaborating with both youth and staff to share their stories creatively through art and design,” said Jess Dannhauser, Commissioner, Administration for Children's Services.

Each PAIR artist receives $40,000, and the residency lasts a minimum of one year. The residency begins with a research phase, during which the artist spends time at the agency meeting staff and learning about its operations and initiatives while also introducing the artist's practice and process to agency staff. The research phase concludes with a proposal from the artist outlining one or more public-facing participatory projects that will be implemented during the remainder of the residency. In addition to the fee, PAIR artists receive in-kind resources such as desk space with the partner agency, and access to DCLA's Materials for the Arts creative reuse program.

PAIR was inspired by artist Mierle Ukeles' pioneering artist residency with the NYC Department of Sanitation, which started in the late 1970s. Since its 2015 launch, PAIR has now placed 24 artists and arts collectives in residence with 19 City agencies. A full list is available on the Cultural Affairs website.

Recent PAIR highlights include artist Carlos Irijalba's sculptural installation exploring the impacts of climate change as part of the Department of Design and Construction's work on Manhattan's Lower East Side; Modesto “Flako” Jimenez's work with participants in NYC Health + Hospital's “Guns Down, Life Up” program; artist sTo Len's work with the NYC Department of Sanitation to create the Office of In Visibility; the I Still Believe in Our City campaign by artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, working with the NYC Commission on Human Rights; The People's Bus and The People's Festival, initiated by artist Yazmany Arboleda working with the NYC Civic Engagement Commission; and You Do It with Your Heart Black business solidarity initiative by artist Andre Wagner, working with the Commission on Human Rights. In 2021, DCLA announced that artworks by two recent PAIRs had been acquired by major cultural institutions around the world.