Arts on the Line
| Company type | Public art program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation, Public art |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Cambridge Arts Council (CAC) |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway stations |
| Products | Public artworks installed in subway stations |
| Website | www |
Arts on the Line was an innovative initiative introduced in the late 1970s aimed at incorporating artwork into Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subway stations. As the first program of its type in the United States, it set a precedent nationally. The original twenty pieces were completed by 1985, costing , which accounted for 0.5% of the Red Line Northwest Extension construction expenses.
After these initial installations, Arts on the Line broadened its scope to support artwork in no fewer than 12 additional MBTA stations and established "Artstops," a temporary art exhibition series during station refurbishments. The program also features artworks installed within the six new Green Line Extension stations.
History
Formed in 1964 to unify transit services across Greater Boston, the MBTA started incorporating permanent public art in 1967. Before the creation of Arts on the Line, there was no dedicated arts initiative; art selection processes were closed and often contentious, with artists encountering contract and payment challenges.
The concept for Arts on the Line emerged during the planning phase of the Red Line Northwest Extension, which included four stations: Harvard, Porter, Davis, and Alewife. In 1977, the MBTA obtained a $45,000 grant from the Federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration to establish an art installation program. The following year, MBTA collaborated with the Cambridge Arts Council (CAC) to execute this project.
Managed and developed by CAC, Arts on the Line drew inspiration from international transit art programs such as those in the Stockholm Metro, Paris Métro, and Montreal Metro. It became the pioneering U.S. arts-in-transit effort, designed as a pilot to encourage similar initiatives across the country.
Selection process
Between 1979 and 1980, the Cambridge Arts Council coordinated the selection of twenty artworks—five allocated per station—for installation in MBTA stations. An "arts committee" was established for each station and issued an open call that attracted over 650 submissions from artists.
Each committee comprised representatives from the MBTA, community development groups, local historical societies, neighborhood residents, business figures, and an arts administrator. The committees operated through two subgroups: an advisory board responsible for collecting information on station design, local history, and user demographics; and a three-member art panel consisting of an artist, an out-of-state art expert, and a local community member tasked with selecting the artworks.
The selection followed a seven-step procedure that combined structured evaluation with adaptability. After committee meetings, the art panel worked alongside MBTA officials and architects to decide on selection methods—whether open or limited competitions, invitations, or direct purchases. Artists then prepared proposals reviewed by the committee before final decisions were made by the panel.
Following completion of the initial twenty artworks for the Northwest Extension stations, Arts on the Line expanded to incorporate artwork installations at a minimum of twelve additional MBTA stations.
Installation
The inaugural 20 pieces from the Arts on the Line initiative debuted in 1985, establishing what was then the most extensive transit art collection in the United States. The total expenditure for these artworks amounted to $695,000, representing just 0.5% of the Red Line Extension’s construction budget, with $70,000 provided through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1989, the National Endowment for the Arts honored the program with a Federal Design Achievement Award, recognizing its contribution to enhancing public spaces through artistic expression.
The majority of these installations incorporated robust materials such as stone, bronze, and brick. They were strategically placed to restrict direct contact, thereby reducing deterioration and vandalism. According to Cambridge city public art guidelines, these works were intended to endure for 75 years.
Later works
Following the completion of artwork placement along the Red Line Extension, Arts on the Line introduced "ArtStops" in 1986. This project aimed to integrate art into stations undergoing refurbishment to enrich commuter experience amid construction activities. Temporary exhibition spaces were established at six stations—including Central, Park Street, Kendall/MIT, Washington Street, and Essex (Chinatown)—each receiving $20,000 dedicated to art. Twenty-one artists were granted stipends of $3,500 each to produce up to three pieces per station. Across 1986 and 1987, a total of 59 works were exhibited, some of which became permanent fixtures like Kendall Band at Kendall/MIT.
By the 1990s, progress halted: no additional artworks were commissioned and kinetic sculptures such as Kendall Band stopped functioning. The MBTA faced criticism for inadequate maintenance; examples included burnt-out lighting in Blue Sky on the Red Line, missing components from Glove Cycle, and neglect of Gift of the Wind. Artist Paul Matisse was compelled to personally repair Kendall Band despite contractual terms assigning upkeep responsibility to MBTA.
In 2001, a federally supported restoration initiative worth $2.3 million was launched by MBTA to refurbish 21 of the existing 72 pieces and introduce ten new artworks. A notable addition was Totems of Light, a stained glass installation at the renovated Airport station. Public art plans for the Green Line Extension were initially eliminated during budget cuts in 2015 but were subsequently reinstated.
Removal of artworks
The Lights at the End of the Tunnel, a large reflective mobile created by William Wainwright located in Porter Square station’s mezzanine area, was taken down in 1993 after a lead weight detached.
Omphalos, an outdoor sculpture by Dimitri Hadzi situated at Harvard Square station, experienced progressive deterioration until a fragment fell off. Due to high repair costs and limited funding, MBTA explored options to relocate or remove it in 2013. By December of that year, it had been removed and ownership transferred to a private developer in Rockport, Massachusetts, who intended to restore and reinstall it near a new project in Pigeon Cove, Massachusetts, with approval from the artist’s widow.
Red Line Northwest Extension artworks
The initial twenty artworks commissioned under Arts on the Line were installed along the Red Line Northwest Extension:
| Title | Image | Artist | Station | Location | Year | Medium | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Untitled | Richard Fleischner | Alewife | Street level | 1985 | Granite, pavers, plantings | A 3-acre (12,000 m2) environmental installation featuring an artificial pond alongside granite blocks | ||
| Untitled | David Davison | Alewife | Ramp leading to busway | 1984 | Porcelain tiles | Approximately 200 feet (61 m) of abstract light blue tiles arranged in various patterns | ||
| Alewife Cows | Joel Janowitz | Alewife | Busway (north wall) | 1985 | Paint on steel panels | Mural illustrating a faux exit with cows grazing outside | ||
| Untitled (Kiss and Ride) | William Keyser, Jr. | Alewife | Parking garage area | 1984 | Maple wood, stainless steel | Two sculptural bench pieces | ||
| The End of the Red Line | Alejandro and Moira Sina | Alewife | Above northern track | 1984 | Neon | One thousand illuminated red neon tubes suspended above a single track | ||
| Untitled | Nancy Webb | Alewife | Lobby floor area | 1984 | Bronze tiles | Around one hundred low-relief tiles depicting local flora and fauna embedded throughout lobby floor | ||
| Ten Figures | James Tyler | Davis | Street level | Masonry sculpture | Life-sized human figures positioned around Davis Square | |||
| 'Children's Tile Mural' |
Jack Gregory and Joan Wye |
Davis |
Mezzanine wall area |
Tile mosaic |
Children’s tile artworks displayed on mezzanine brick wall |
|||
| 'Poetry' | 'Richard C. Shaner, Elizabeth Bishop, others' | 'Davis' | 'Platform level (floor and walls)' | 'Poetry lines embedded into bricks on platform walls' | ||||
| 'Sculpture with a D' | 'Sam Gilliam' | 'Davis' | 'Wall above northbound track' | 'Painted aluminum abstract piece' | ||||
| 'Gift of the Wind' | 'Susumu Shingu' | ' Porter' | 'Street level' | '1983' | 'Steel and aluminum' | 'A 46-foot (14 m) kinetic sculpture featuring three large red wings that move with wind currents' | ||
| 'Ondas' | 'Carlos Dorrien' | 'Porter' | 'Headhouse exterior and interior walls' | '1983' | 'Granite stone' | '24-foot (7.3 m) tall undulating granite form attached inside and outside station walls' | ||
| 'Glove Cycle' | ' Mags Harries' | 'Porter' | 'Escalator and platform levels' | '1984' | 'Bronze sculptures' | 'Numerous bronze gloves of various types dispersed throughout station including escalator areas' | ||
| 'Untitled' | 'William Reimann' | 'Porter' | 'Street level plaza' | '1983' | 'Granite stone bollards' | 'Six granite bollards sandblasted with designs symbolizing local ethnic communities.' | ||
| 'Porter Square Megaliths' | ' David Phillips' | 'Porter' | 'Street level plaza' | '1984' | 'Field stone, bronze accents, pavers' | 'Four large boulders with missing sections replaced by bronze casts.' | ||
| "The Lights at the End of the Tunnel" † | "" | " William Wainwright" | "Porter" | "Mezzanine ceiling-hung" | "1984" | "Aluminum and mylar" | "Large reflective mobile removed in 1993 following detachment of lead weight." | |
| "Gateway to Knowledge" | "" | " Ann Norton" | " Harvard" | "Brattle Square plaza" | "1983" | "Brick masonry" | "20-foot-high brick structure split vertically but connected at top; one half positioned slightly forward." | |
| "New England Decorative Art" | "" | "Joyce Kozloff" | "Harvard" | "Wall above busway ramp" | "1985" | "Ceramic tile mosaic" | "83-foot-long mosaic divided into eight quilt-like panels." | |
| "Omphalos" † | "" | "Dimitri Hadzi" | "Harvard" | "Harvard Square plaza" | "1985" | "Granite sculpture" | "Cluster of pillars supporting intersecting forms; removed in 2013 after heavy stone piece detached due to corrosion." | |
| "Blue Sky on the Red Line" | "" | "György Kepes" | "Harvard" | "Upper busway wall" | "1985" | "Stained glass panel" | "Large backlit stained glass installation primarily blue with red band; relit using LEDs in 2019." |
† No longer present at station