RESPECT THE SPACE
PITTSBURGH, PA | 2021

Pittsburgh Port Authority commissioned JY Originals through a national rapid-response COVID art initiative spearheaded by Smart Growth America and Forecast Public Art. Young’s task was to create a bus stop street mural on the sidewalk (or “bump out”) at Port Authority’s busiest Downtown transit location on Smithfield Street.

Her concept for the piece expanded upon previous pandemic artwork, creating playful, but informative, messaging in a galaxy theme: respect the space. The overall message was relayed with 3M planet-cut outs, hand-painted stars and stenciled moon boots to mark suggested standing spots.

At a time where CDC guidance is evolving in real-time, one thing should remain the same: our respect for each others' personal space. The artist interviewed transit riders and workers about their commute experience during the pandemic and created work based on their answers. She also made the work interactive by adding various scannable QR codes throughout the art to give riders the chance to have different experiences during their commutes, such as a meditative music playlist, a video about the project and her Instagram profile to browse.

Respect overrules (pun absolutely intended).

Photos by Ray Carrington