By Gus Saltonstall
A vacant commercial space within an Upper West Side train station has been transformed into a “busking station” for musical artists as part of a new MTA initiative.
The new space, dubbed the “Sound Booth,” is now open inside of the West 81st Street B and C station.
The project is part of an initiative announced in the fall by the MTA to “reinvent subway retail locations with arts or cultural spaces and other creative non-commercial uses to enhance passenger experience.”
The new train station space was created in collaboration with Art on the Ave, a nonprofit founded on the Upper West Side that transforms vacant street storefronts into art galleries and installations. The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District also played a part in brining the new space to life.
“The Sound Booth is the ultimate busking station. We want to bring music to the space so all can enjoy their commute and journey,” Barbara Anderson, the founder of Art on the Ave, told West Side Rag in an email. “We want all artists to feel supported and safe in what they do and this is a wonderful use of a space that has been vacant for a long time.”
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