Podcast: Subway Artist Lothar Osterburg Re-imagines New York Through Immigrant Eyes

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Lothar Osterberg in his studio. (Photo: Helle Andersen)

Fi2W is featuring stories by students in the Feet in 2 Worlds journalism course at The New School.

Listen to the podcast here:

New York City subway riders are used to glancing up to see works of art displayed in subway cars.  In 1999 the MTA’s Arts for Transit initiated the Art Card program to provide opportunities for illustrators, printmakers, and other visual artists to create transit-themed artwork for the subway system. But who are the artists who are selected by the MTA to enliven the daily commute?

Lothar Osterburg’s poster showing Grand Central Terminal with zeppelins hovering overhead is currently on display in subway cars all over the city.

Helle Andersen spent a day with the German-born artist to learn how his experience as an immigrant has influenced his vision of New York.  Listen to her conversation with Fi2W’s Aswini Anburajan.

Thanks to Tarek Fouda for help with engineering. 

Fi2W is supported by the David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation and the Ralph E. Odgen Foundation.

AboutHelle Andersen
Helle Andersen was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has lived in New York since 2011. Helle graduated with a Professional Bachelors degree in Media Production and Management from the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Copenhagen, 2010. She is currently a graduate student at The New School for Public Engagement with a Master of Arts in Media Studies.