Did You Know?—There’s Amazing Public Artwork Just Steps Away from These Five VNSNY Offices!

You may not realize the amazing public artwork that’s on display just around the corner from a number of VNSNY’s office locations. In fact, a dazzling assortment of street art, murals, sculptures and more are available for the viewing at any time, just a short walk from where many of us work every day.

Below are five VNSNY offices with particularly good access to public art, along with some tips on where to look!

220 East 42nd Street, Manhattan

Looking down on the mural “Reflection” from an upper floor of 220 East 42nd Street.

If you work at VNSNY’s 220 East 42nd Street location, you can’t miss the giant painting on the side of the Westin Hotel, directly opposite the west side of our own office building. The mural by Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada, titled “Reflection,” is a visual protest against the use of child labor. It was completed in April as part of the International Labour Organization (ILO’s) #ILO100 Art Walk project, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ILO’s founding. According to the artist’s website, “Reflection” is the biggest mural ever painted in New York City, reaching 44 meters (almost 145 feet) in height—right outside our west-facing office windows!

“Reflection’s creator, artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada, at work on his mural.

Like the project’s four other murals, all located between East 42nd and East 48th Street, “Reflection” is an inspirational message about social justice. The Art Walk project is a partnership between the ILO, a United Nations organization dedicated to developing positive labour standards, and Street Art for Mankind (SAM), a non-profit that works with street artists from around the world to raise awareness about child slavery.Marketing Director Amy Margolis managed to snap a few photos of Rodríguez-Gerada working on his mural while it was still a creation-in-progress.

At nearly 145 feet in height, the mural is so big that its subject’s eyes hold other painted figures.

“The fact that the project was based on child labor and child slavery was something that was actually very, very important to me,” said Rodríguez-Gerada on his website. “I wanted to find a way where I can do multiple layers of children and I figured that the best way to do this was to do a portrait that was so large that the eyes would give an iris area … large enough to paint images of other children.”

The other four murals in the #ILO100 Art Walk can be seen at 235 East 43rd Street, 245 East 44th Street and 209 East 48th Street (all between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) and at the Uganda House at 336 East 45th Street, just west of First Avenue.

This astronaut mural is on the side of India’s mission to the UN, on 43rd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Part of the ILO’s Art Walk series, it commemorates the 150th Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (you can spot his portrait on the astronaut’s shoulder) as well as the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

Queens Regional Office — 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Queens

One of the modern artworks that can be seen at the Bulova Corporate Center, where VNSNY’s Queens Regional Office is located.

Once the headquarters for the Bulova Watch Company, the Bulova Corporate Center now houses the VNSNY’s Queens Regional Office, along with a host of paintings, sculptures and other art installations.

Another Bulova Center piece—this one a sculpture by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

You don’t need to leave the building to spot some interesting works by renowned artists such as Niki de Saint Phalle, Frederick Prescott, and Michael Craig-Martin. Other, more modern works on display are also featured as part of a rotating exhibit furnished by the Queens Museum. Most of the artworks are located on the sprawling first floor of the building, with some pieces on the floors above as well.

The Bulova Center’s plaster replicas of ancient Greek statues were originally owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Antique plaster casts of classical Greek sculptures, once owned and exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, can also be seen throughout the building.

FRIENDS Clinic — 489-493 East 153rd Street, Bronx

This commissioned mural graces the side of the MetroPCS store at East 151st Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx.

Just a few blocks north of The Hub, the South Bronx’s busiest retail and theatre area, VNSNY’s FRIENDS Clinic, a part of our Community Mental Health Services (CMHS), is situated amidst many colorful examples of authentic street graffiti as well as several murals commissioned by local businesses.

Older pieces by Bronx-based artists like Alfred Bennett (also known as the Royal KingBee) can be spotted just around the corner from FRIENDS.

This mural on East 152nd Street between 3rd Avenue and Bergen Avenue in the Bronx was painted by Alfred Bennett, known as the Royal KingBee (you can see his signature bee figure in the lower left corner).

CMHS — 248 West 125th Street and 286 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan

You’ll find this intriguing mural on the wall of the Amsterdam News building at 2340 Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Manhattan, just below 126th Street.

VNSNY Community Mental Health Services’ longtime office at 148 125th Street and its new office at nearby 286 Lenox Avenue are both located in a busy section of Harlem that’s filled with outdoor artwork.

Within walking distance of the offices are over a dozen murals created as part of the #EducationIsNotACrime campaign. The campaign’s aim is to call attention to human rights abuses in Iran, notably the exclusion of the Baha’is religious minority from studying and teaching in the nation’s universities. First appearing in Harlem in 2015, the campaign also extends into Brooklyn, Queens, and Jersey City.

These two oversized rulers, on West 126th Street just east of Frederick Douglass Boulevard, are part of the #EducationIsNotACrime campaign.

A little further east on that West 126th Street block, you’ll see this wall mural, also from the #EducationIsNotACrime campaign.

Many other murals can be found along 125th Street, with several near the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building and Apollo Theatre.

This mural faces the State Building on Manhattan’s West 125th Street, between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard.

These neighborhood murals include several paintings by street artist Franco the Great, known for his work on storefront security gates.

This example of Frederick the Great’s security-gate art is also located on West 125th Street near the Apollo Theater.

Know of any interesting artwork or other sights near your office? Let us know!