New York Proud public art exhibition opens in the Bronx, heads to Queens

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) this week opened the Bronx chapter of its third annual New York Proud campaign with a public art installation at Mill Pond Park, bringing the faces and stories of immigrant New Yorkers into one of the borough’s most prominent public spaces. 

NYIC, an umbrella organization of over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York, said on Tuesday, Sept. 15, that the installation follows the campaign’s launch in Times Square and marks the next stop in its citywide expansion. 

The exhibition will remain on view in the Bronx through Oct. 5, NYIC said. 

It said New York Proud will then expand to the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Sept. 28, where it will remain through Nov. 2. 

“New York Proud is a citywide public art initiative celebrating the immigrants whose contributions are essential to New York’s culture, economy and identity,” NYIC said. 

“Through large-scale portraits and personal stories displayed in public gathering places, the campaign showcases immigrant New Yorkers not as political abstractions, but as neighbors, workers, artists, business owners and community leaders whose lives are inseparable from the story of New York,” it added. 

Created by Venezuelan artist and documentary photographer Oscar B. Castillo, NYIC said the exhibition pairs striking portraits with personal stories from immigrant New Yorkers across the city. 

“By placing the work in parks, plazas and other shared spaces, New York Proud transforms familiar gathering places into opportunities for connection and recognition,” said NYIC, stating that the Bronx and Queens are home to immigrant communities from across the globe, making them especially meaningful settings for the campaign’s next chapters. 

As immigrant New Yorkers face mounting hostility and uncertainty at the federal level, NYIC said New York Proud responds by “making visible the people and stories that have long defined the city.” 

“The Bronx and Queens tell the story of New York: communities built and sustained by immigrants from every corner of the world,” said NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh. “At a moment when the federal government is working to divide and intimidate immigrant communities, New York Proud offers a powerful response. 

“These portraits affirm that immigrant New Yorkers belong here, that their contributions matter, and that their stories deserve to be seen in the neighborhoods they call home,” he added. 

Castillo said “photography has the power to challenge the narrow ways people are often seen, particularly immigrants, whose lives are too often flattened into headlines or political debates. 

“With these portraits, I wanted to capture each participant on their own terms and reflect the individuality, pride and complexity they bring to New York,” he added. “Bringing the exhibition to the Bronx and Queens places those stories in the communities they help shape.”  

NYIC said the 2026 New York Proud installations include: Bronx: Mill Pond Park (Exterior St & E 150th St, Bronx, NY 10451) – Sep. 14 – Oct. 5; Queens: Queens Museum (New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368) – Sep. 28 – Nov. 2; and Brooklyn: The Plaza at 300 Ashland (85 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217) – Oct. 6 – Oct. 28.