Arts for Transit and Urban Design

86th Street

Nitza Tufiño

Westside Views, 1989

Ceramic tile on platform walls

Westside Views began when the local Community Board recommended that developer amenity funds be used for a youth project to benefit the community. The result was a collaboration between Nitza Tufiño and 17 young people, most of whom were part of Grosvenor Neighborhood House's school equivalency and educational program. The team went into area streets to photograph important historic sites and interviewed members of the community, ultimately creating 40 ceramic tiles based on their work. The murals are permanently installed as a testament to the success of the project. Speaking of her work, Tufiño says: "As an artist, if I take my brushes and my skills and I invest in the lives of young people, then others can see what is possible... I believe human beings can do anything, if we find something that would positively influence them."