The Plan

For Immediate Release

“No Train Like Home”
Opening: Friday, April 6, 2007; 7:30 a.m.
The F train

New York, NY April 3, 2007
“No Train Like Home” is a public, guerilla art installation/experiment designed to radically change the morning commute on the F train, if only for one day. Three Brooklyn-based artists are collaborating to redecorate the inside of a subway car, temporarily replicating a living room, and inviting all who step into the car to feel more at home on their way to work, school, or wherever they’re headed.

Upon entering the car, commuters will be greeted by welcome mats affixed to the floor in front of each door. Curtains will be hanging from the windows, houseplants attached to the overhead bars, and magazines will be distributed for reading pleasure.
The subway ads will temporarily be replaced by "family portraits" and images of book and record collections. Carpeting will be installed. The artists themselves will be relaxing in the car, wearing their pajamas and enjoying coffee.

The “No Train Like Home” project is inspired by the vast amount of time the average New Yorker spends on the subway, and how much of a second home the subway system can be for millions of commuters. It is as much of a commentary on the nature and necessity of public transportation as it is an exploration of how a fundamentally familiar yet markedly altered environment will be received, both by the MTA and its riders.

Since this is an unsanctioned, live art installation, it is a total mystery to even its creators how long it will remain intact, and how those who encounter it will react. For one morning, a to-be-determined car on the F line will be changed, however temporarily, and countless people—old, young, spanning several neighborhoods, income brackets, and races—will share the same living room, even if just for a few stops.

Contact:
Ellen Moynihan
notrainlikehome@hotmail.com