Case Subtype: Damaged/Nonfunctional
Audio Guide
New Years Eve:
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Various locations around Times Square
New York, NY
Start:
Aug 1, 2026
End:
Aug 31, 2026
24/7
View Public Programming
Various locations around Times Square
New York, NY
Start:
Aug 1, 2026
End:
Aug 31, 2026
24/7
View Public Programming
Case Subtype: Damaged/Nonfunctional, presents photographs taken by sanitation workers and public safety officers of the Times Square Alliance as part of routine maintenance of the district. The images document “cases” in public space requiring cleaning, repair, or removal. Workers use the photographs to document conditions along their designated routes and to assign tasks across departments.
These utilitarian images register the daily observations of worker and the maintenance labor that keeps Times Square, “clean and safe”—the informal slogan of the Times Square sanitation and public safety departments.
Gathered and installed by Times Square Public Artist-in-Residence Maia Chao, the project reframes these procedural photos as a found archive of maintenance labor, and as a record of disruption and deterioration routinely erased from view. The installation is on display across 10 trash compactors throughout the plazas of Times Square from August 1 to 31, 2026.
Special thanks to Sanitation Workers and Public Safety Officers A.Vestal, L. Miller, A. Branch, M. Torres, T. Hayes, C. Davis, M. Butler, J. Moreira, I. Johnson, D. Moody, W. Jackson, S. Manley, J. De La Moody, C. Kirkland, A. Cruz, and A. Tall.
Case Subtype: Damaged/Nonfunctional, presents photographs taken by sanitation workers and public safety officers of the Times Square Alliance as part of routine maintenance of the district. The images document “cases” in public space requiring cleaning, repair, or removal. Workers use the photographs to document conditions along their designated routes and to assign tasks across departments.
These utilitarian images register the daily observations of worker and the maintenance labor that keeps Times Square, “clean and safe”—the informal slogan of the Times Square sanitation and public safety departments.
Gathered and installed by Times Square Public Artist-in-Residence Maia Chao, the project reframes these procedural photos as a found archive of maintenance labor, and as a record of disruption and deterioration routinely erased from view. The installation is on display across 10 trash compactors throughout the plazas of Times Square from August 1 to 31, 2026.
Special thanks to Sanitation Workers and Public Safety Officers A.Vestal, L. Miller, A. Branch, M. Torres, T. Hayes, C. Davis, M. Butler, J. Moreira, I. Johnson, D. Moody, W. Jackson, S. Manley, J. De La Moody, C. Kirkland, A. Cruz, and A. Tall.
Support for Maia Chao's Case Subtype: Damaged/Nonfunctional is provided in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Various locations around Times Square
New York, NY
24/7
Maia Chao is an artist who works collaboratively in performance, film, and social practice. She is co-creator of the social practice project, Look at Art. Get Paid (2015-20) with Josephine Devanbu, which piloted at the RISD Museum. She has since made collaborative works with artists Ethan Philbrick, Fred Schmidt-Arenales, and Ree Bradley. Chao has created commissioned films and performances for the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, The Shed, and MoMA Education. Her work has been presented at the Bronx Museum, Cuchifritos Gallery, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Boston Center for the Arts, Tufts University Art Galleries, Smack Mellon, and Oregon Contemporary. She has completed fellowships and residencies from the Fine Arts Work Center, Pioneer Works, and Queer|Art. In 2022, she was named a Pew Fellow and in 2023, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Based in Philadelphia, Chao is an artist-member of the art collective and DIY space, Vox Populi. She holds a BA from Brown University, and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is currently full time faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Learn More About
Maia Chao
Maia Chao is an artist who works collaboratively in performance, film, and social practice. She is co-creator of the social practice project, Look at Art. Get Paid (2015-20) with Josephine Devanbu, which piloted at the RISD Museum. She has since made collaborative works with artists Ethan Philbrick, Fred Schmidt-Arenales, and Ree Bradley. Chao has created commissioned films and performances for the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, The Shed, and MoMA Education. Her work has been presented at the Bronx Museum, Cuchifritos Gallery, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Boston Center for the Arts, Tufts University Art Galleries, Smack Mellon, and Oregon Contemporary. She has completed fellowships and residencies from the Fine Arts Work Center, Pioneer Works, and Queer|Art. In 2022, she was named a Pew Fellow and in 2023, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Based in Philadelphia, Chao is an artist-member of the art collective and DIY space, Vox Populi. She holds a BA from Brown University, and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is currently full time faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Learn More About
Maia Chao
Maia Chao is an artist who works collaboratively in performance, film, and social practice. She is co-creator of the social practice project, Look at Art. Get Paid (2015-20) with Josephine Devanbu, which piloted at the RISD Museum. She has since made collaborative works with artists Ethan Philbrick, Fred Schmidt-Arenales, and Ree Bradley. Chao has created commissioned films and performances for the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, The Shed, and MoMA Education. Her work has been presented at the Bronx Museum, Cuchifritos Gallery, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Boston Center for the Arts, Tufts University Art Galleries, Smack Mellon, and Oregon Contemporary. She has completed fellowships and residencies from the Fine Arts Work Center, Pioneer Works, and Queer|Art. In 2022, she was named a Pew Fellow and in 2023, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Based in Philadelphia, Chao is an artist-member of the art collective and DIY space, Vox Populi. She holds a BA from Brown University, and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is currently full time faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Learn More About
Maia Chao
