MTA Launches Living Memorial to Honor Transit Workers Lost to COVID-19

The global pandemic has led to unimaginable loss to the MTA family, with 136 employees dying of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. To honor and pay tribute to those who have been lost too soon, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority today launched an engaging visual memorial to those employees, heroes who dedicated their lives to moving New Yorkers through the city and region. 

Built around photographs shared by family members, the memorial was designed by MTA Arts & Design at the request of Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of MTA New York City Transit. It is entitled “TRAVELS FAR” after a poem by Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. Poet Laureate, that was commissioned for this project and will appear in multiple languages at stations. The online version is accompanied by an original score of the same name by composer Christopher Thompson, which was also commissioned for the memorial. This special tribute involved many people in various disciplines including New York City Transit liaisons to the family, and in-house talent from marketing, web and digital content teams. 

The memorial will appear as an eight-minute video running on 138 three-panel digital screens at 107 subway stations today, Monday, Jan. 25, through Sunday, Feb. 7. The video will play twice consecutively three times per dayat 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and is available to view on a website featuring the memorial and portraits.

-via Press Release

This article was posted on: January 25, 2021