Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) in partnership with Westfield World Trade Center, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and with exclusive print partner Absolut Art present Mona Chalabi’s 100 New Yorkers, open now in Lower Manhattan as part of River To River 2020: Four Voices. 

By using hard data as the foundation of her art, multidisciplinary artist Mona Chalabi reconstitutes information that is often decontextualized and dehumanized, transforming numbers, charts, and statistics into readable, digestible, and understandable visual narratives. Her work lays bare the multi-layered and intertwined nature of the systems and structures within which we live and the indisputable effect that these unseen conditions have when they play out across our society.

100 New Yorkers visualizes what the city’s population would look like if it were distilled from its ungraspable millions to a more relatable 100 individuals. Using census data, Chalabi has created 100 characters that visualize the racial, economic, and social realities of the city’s population. By framing these characters through various statistical lenses, Chalabi relays a multitude of nonfiction narratives that tell the story of the New York public and how politics, environment, health, wealth, physical ability, and education affect how the diverse population lives, dies, and exists in between.

The work is presented across the Westfield World Trade Center on 22 state-of-the-art digital screens of varying size—one measuring four stories—as well as the 280-foot long screen that runs along the East/West Concourse. Appearing intermittently every few minutes across this vast media network, the content and presentation of 100 New Yorkers creates an immersive experience that layers life, art, and data. Signed, limited editions of Chalabi’s work will also be available exclusively through Absolut Art. Learn more about River to River 2020 and 100 New Yorkers on LMCC.