My art was featured in a major public art exhibition at the Rockefeller Center in NYC. Read about the exhibition, the inspiration behind my art design, and my recent trip to New York in August 2020 to celebrate the show.

About the Flag Project Exhibition

For the first time, the Rockefeller Center showcased art sourced from artists around the world that represented New York City – the culture, the artistic talent, diversity, and more. The Flag Project was a collaborative effort of nearly 200 artists, including globally recognized artists such as KAWS, Jeff Koons, and Marina Abramović.

The exhibition featured the artwork on a massive scale, reproduced in full-sized 8” x 12” flags to hang in Rockefeller Plaza, replacing the country flags which usually hang there.

The Flag Project was open to the public from August 1-16, 2020, but thanks to such a positive response, it was extended an additional week until August 23rd.

About my CULTURE Flag Design

The goal of the Flag Project was to showcase New York City from an artistic perspective. I lived in New York for about three years before beginning my nomadic journey around the world. Ever since, I’ve felt a connection to the city, its energy, and travel back often to reconnect with one of my favorite cities. 

After finding out about the project, I was enthusiastic about submitting a design for consideration. I was living abroad in Europe to work on a few projects when I began to think about what kind of design I wanted to create.

Knowing the talent in New York, I didn’t think I had much of a chance to be selected, but my love for the city still pushed me to at least give myself a chance. I pondered the project details for about a week until I was hit with sudden inspiration on a routine walk back to my apartment.

The thought process behind my flag design is to highlight the CULTURE of New York City. I wanted to incorporate iconic symbols of the city that, together, forms the familiar culture. Each letter in the word CULTURE depicts a familiar scene if you know where to look.

C – Knicks logo

U – Ernst and Young sign in Times Square

L – Subway L-train which runs between Manhattan and Brooklyn

T – Taxi logo seen on every taxi in the city

U – Section of the “Times Square” subway platform sign

R – Radio City Music Hall sign

E – LOVE art sculpture in Manhattan

I approached the piece by going letter-by-letter and thinking about the first iconic NYC landmark or attraction that came to mind to find the corresponding letter.

It took only an hour to make the initial draft of the CULTURE flag design. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the letters don’t align perfectly. When I finished the first draft, I left it as-is to look at for a day while considering if it was the design I wanted to continue to pursue.

After looking at the draft so many times, I started to like the slight sense of chaos to how the letters fit together, reflecting the sort of unexplainable controlled chaos you’ll experience in New York.

I submitted the design soon after, and a month later, I received notification that my design was chosen to be featured in the exhibition! I returned to the USA shortly before I got the confirmation email, so it was a no-brainer that I had to plan a trip to NYC to see the exhibition in person.

Visiting NYC to See the Exhibition

“Travel” and “2020” are two words you typically aren’t seeing. Still, I had already traveled in Europe, and back to the US, so I’ve previously seen the status in the airports and felt comfortable making yet another journey.

New York set in place a rule which only allows travelers from a handful of states to travel there without a 14-day quarantine – Michigan was one of the few states permitted, so I was in luck!

My Dad and I visited New York City on the second weekend of the exhibition and stayed for a couple of days to get some great photos. It had to be the right conditions to catch my flag waving in the wind on a sunny day, but the weather was ideal each day.

My first time seeing my flag was a bit surreal after thinking about the entire process of submitting my design, getting notification that I was selected, and all of the travel in-between. It was a feeling of satisfaction that the time dedicated to designing, proposing, and traveling was all being rewarded with the sight.

I went to the Rockefeller Plaza every day while in New York to sit an appreciate the opportunity to have my flag waving in one of the most famous plazas in the city. In addition to the flag, the plaza set up a mural to display every featured artists’ name.

To help celebrate the contributing artists in the exhibition, we received a complimentary trip to the “Top of the Rock” attraction, an observation deck located at the top of the Rockefeller Center. We ascended 70 stories above the streets of New York to see eye-level with the tallest buildings. It was the perfect place to reflect on the exhibition.

Final Thoughts

It’s an honor to have my signature CULTURE design featured in a major public art exhibition in one of my favorite cities. I remember always wanting to do a photoshoot at Rockefeller Plaza with the country flags as the backdrop since it fits perfectly with my global lifestyle. Now, I had the opportunity to design a flag hanging in that very spot.

I want to develop the CULTURE flag concept into a series using iconic landmarks and symbols from other cities to one day feature in another exhibition. Congrats to all of the participants in the Flag Project, and it only grows my love for New York City!

Appreciate Culture.