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Art


Art

Overview

From bus stops to rail stations, streetscapes to bus interiors, construction fences to poetry works, art creates a sense of place and engages transit riders.

With that in mind, Metro's Art Department was created in 1989 and over the past two decades has commissioned more than 300 artists to incorporate art into a wide array of transportation projects throughout Los Angeles County. Artists are selected through a peer review process with community input and all works are created especially for their specific transit-related sites.

Praised for organizing “one of the most imaginative public art programs in the country," Metro has received numerous design and artistic excellence awards and is renowned for its unparalleled interdisciplinary approach to melding art and the transit experience.

Currently, one half of one percent (0.5%) of rail construction costs are allocated to the creation of original art works, while strong support has been demonstrated by municipal and corporate contributions of over $1.5 million.

To join our mailing list, click on the Artist Opportunities tab above.


Art Tours

Metro offers regularly scheduled as well as special request group tours of the artwork in the Metro Rail system. Tours are led by trained Metro Docent Council volunteers.

The Metro Docent Council is committed to increasing awareness of the broad range of art in the Metro Rail system through public tours that provide insights into the artworks, the artists who created them, the processes it took to make them, and the communities they enhance. While docent programs are commonly found at museums around the world, Metro is the first transit agency to benefit from such a program.

Docents Wanted

We are expanding our program and recruiting a new class of docents. Passionate about art in public transit? Email us with your letter of interest.

Scheduled Tours

Free tours are offered the first Thursday, Saturday and Sunday of every month. The tours are roundtrip and last approximately 2 hours. No reservations are required!

First Thursday - Meet promptly at 7 pm at the street level entrance to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Hollywood Blvd. near the corner with Highland Ave. If driving to Hollywood/Highland station, park at the Visitors' Center at the Hollywood/Highland shopping center complex to obtain partial parking validation.

First Saturday - Meet promptly at 10 a.m. at the street level entrance to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Hollywood Blvd. near the corner with Highland Ave. If driving to Hollywood/Highland station, park at the Visitors’ Center at the Hollywood/Highland shopping center complex to obtain partial parking validation.

First Sunday - Meet promptly at 10 a.m. at the information booth inside the entrance to historic Union Station at 900 Alameda St. in Downtown Los Angeles. There is pay parking at Union Station and metered street parking, and pay lots in the immediate area.

Special Request Tours

Free art tours for groups of 15 or more are available by special arrangement. More information is available by calling 213.922.2726 or by clicking Art Tours.

General Information

The tours are approximately 90% walking; there are elevators and escalators in all the stations.

The docents distribute date-stamped badges that allow you to ride the entire Metro Rail system for free on the day of the tour. Docents carry voice amplifiers and wear bright orange vests for easy identification.

Children at or above a 5th grade level may participate on the scheduled and private group tours.

There are no public restrooms available in the stations but there are restrooms available to the public at Union Station and the Hollywood/Highland shopping complex.


Art Guide

The Art Guide was updated in July 2011 and includes images of all of the artworks in the Metro transit system. It is a perfect complement for self-guided tours and features a system map, artist information and brief descriptions of the artworks.

Download the Art Guide here.

A hard copy of the pocket-sized brochure is available by request. Please call 213.922.4ART or email us, and include your name and mailing address in your message.


Artist Opportunities

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates and information about public art opportunities and workshops for artists.

Metro Art shares its mailing list, on a carefully selected basis, with other programs seeking to inform artists of public art opportunities.

Join our mailing list
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Workshops for artists

Metro is offering two informational workshops for artists interested in upcoming art opportunities throughout our fast-growing transit system.

April 3, 2012
6:00 – 7:30 pm

Santa Monica Main Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Multipurpose Room—2nd Floor
Paid parking is available in the underground parking garage; enter from 7th Street; visitors will need to go into the library and use the interior stairs or elevator to get to the Multipurpose Room.

April 5, 2012
6:00 – 7:30 pm

Palms-Rancho Park Library
2920 Overland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Free parking is available in the library lot.

Each workshop will cover the same material. Interested artists should plan to attend just one workshop.



Showing the latest posts relating to: Metro Art

Just installed! Nordhoff Station mosaic artwork

Posted by Heidi Zeller on May 18, 2012 1:20 pm
More artwork installations are happening on the Orange Line Extension, which is expected to open soon! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Anne Marie Karlsen for Nordhoff Station ...

Just installed! Sherman Way Station mosaic artwork

Posted by Heidi Zeller on May 9, 2012 8:38 am
Artwork installation is moving forward on the Orange Line Extension! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Margaret Lazzari for the Sherman Way Station are below. More information ...

Willie Robert Middlebrook, Jr. 1957-2012

Posted by Zipporah Lax Yamamoto on May 7, 2012 3:04 pm
Willie Middlebrook at the installation of his artwork at Expo/Crenshaw Station. It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Willie Robert Middlebrook, Jr., just one week after ...

Just installed! Canoga Station mosaic artwork

Posted by Zipporah Lax Yamamoto on May 4, 2012 2:04 pm
Artwork installation has begun on the Metro Orange Line Extension! A few shots of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Ken Gonzales-Day for the Canoga Station are below. More information about the ...

Exhibition on Exposition: New Artwork for the Metro Expo Line

Posted by Gayle Anderson on April 29, 2012 9:11 am
Expo/Crenshaw Station: Willie Robert Middlebrook Jr., Wanderers Exploring Expo? Then welcome to L.A.’s newest art gallery. A permanent exhibition at the new stations of the Expo Line is ...

Expo Line fact sheet, art guide and destinations list

Posted by Steve Hymon on April 27, 2012 8:52 am
Click above to see larger image. The art and destinations guide are posted after the jump. They can be downloaded as pdfs — destination here and art here — or you can view them on this ...

In case you missed it: recapping our Expo Line coverage

Posted by Carter Rubin on April 26, 2012 4:46 pm
An Expo train at La Cienega/Jefferson station with the downtown L.A. skyline in the distance. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro. First, a plug: If you’re planning to attend this weekend’s Expo ...

Metro offers workshops for artists Tuesday and Thursday

Posted by Zipporah Lax Yamamoto on April 3, 2012 8:31 am
Metro is offering two informational workshops for artists interested in upcoming art opportunities throughout our fast-growing transit system, including Phase 2 of the Expo Line from Culver City to ...

Art for the Expo Line’s La Cienega/Jefferson station: Engraved in Memory by Daniel González

Posted by Heidi Zeller on March 20, 2012 9:39 am
Artisans at the artwork fabricator, Mosaïka Art & Design, working on Gonzalez’s art panels. Highly skilled artisans translated the artist’s original black and white linoleum prints into ...

Art for the Expo Line: LA Metro Lotería by Jose Lozano

Posted by Heidi Zeller on March 9, 2012 9:05 am
Jose Lozano standing in front of an art panel before it’s installed Jose Lozano presents a series of Lotería cards, based on a Mexican game of chance, in his artwork for Expo/La Brea ...

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