Brooklyn's Church Avenue subway station now features a vivid new public art installation by Christopher Myers, who uses glass-tiled mosaics to spotlight Flatbush's overlooked theater heritage.
The four-panel work, unveiled in March, reaches thousands of commuters each day and marks Myers' first mosaic project. Titled If you don't want your children to know the truth about life don't send 'em to the theater, the piece blends local memory with a bold visual language shaped by Afro-Caribbean carnival traditions and historic stage culture.
Myers researched Flatbush's past for three months, tracing its vaudeville era and the neighborhood's cultural evolution through migration and performance. The mosaics feature six figures, including stilt walkers and stage performers, with Loretta Mary Aiken, known as Moms Mobley, placed at the center of the composition as a tribute to Black vaudeville and comic performance.
The project is part of the MTA Arts & Design program, which dedicates a portion of station renovation budgets to permanent artworks. For Church Avenue, the agency received hundreds of proposals before selecting Myers' concept for its strong connection to place, history, and public space.
Created with Mosaicos Venecianos de México, the installation took 13 months to produce and about two weeks to install. For Myers, the subway remains one of the most democratic stages in New York, where art meets daily life in motion. This kind of public art can help shape more connected, culturally aware cities in the future.
