The Brooklyn Museum has long served as a repository for ornamental architectural forms salvaged from significant buildings that were being demolished. Seventy-eight of these artifacts are installed in the Eastern Pkwy - Brooklyn Museum subway station, enriching the environment and creating an introduction to the museum above. Among these are plaques, lunettes, keystones, and other decorative elements that represent the city's architectural heritage. This project is a successful example of institutional collaboration. The Brooklyn Museum, working with MTA Arts & Design and Vel Riberto Consulting, selected the artifacts and donated them to the project. New mosaic designs were added to frame the objects and make connections with the architecture of the station.  

The MTA Arts & Design Collaborative was a committed team of artists and arts administrators from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Arts & Design team, including the artists, Sandra Bloodworth, Kendal Henry, and Mona Chen, with additional research support by staff Lydia Bradshaw and Rob Wilson. The MTA Arts & Design Collaborative was formed to conceive and manage the installation of artwork at two stations located near keystone New York City cultural institutions, the Museum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Museum. Each station project included extensive collaboration with museum staff, architects, station engineers, and community members as well as the artists on staff at the MTA. The interviews and research conducted with the museums and their neighbors ultimately informed the designs of the corresponding station artwork.