Artwork on New York city building scaffolding

We transform scaffold netting into public art space

Past work:

Street view of brownstone buildings with fire escapes, parked cars, and a tree with budding branches. A large banner with a forest scene hangs on one building. nyc-scaffolding-art

Photo courtesy of the artist

Artist info:

SHIRT (IG / Web)
Whole worlds you never see a block over from where you normally walk, 2025
Photograph, 21x21 Feet

Location:
Carlton Ave & Myrtle Ave, Fort Greene, Brooklyn NY

Not-so-fun fact:

NYC has more scaffolding than anywhere in the world

At any given time, NYC has 8,000+ active scaffold sheds that stay up for an average of 500 days, creating over 1,900,000+ linear feet of scaffolding. (source)

artwork on scaffolding in New York City
A large monument under renovation with scaffolding around it, featuring a chariot drawn by horses at the top.

So we set out to make clever use of these blank canvases

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A building under renovation with scaffolding and protective covering in a city street, with pedestrians, cars, and a traffic light in foreground.

ABout
FACADE FOUNDATION:

Facade Foundation is a new public arts organization (501c3 pending) that turns scaffold netting at active construction sites around New York City into large-scale public art space.

Our mission is to create a sustainable model for bringing art into people’s everyday lives by transforming the city’s natural canvases into exhibition space, starting with scaffolding.

Working closely with artists, estates, and institutions, we facilitate the curation and installation of custom printed scaffold netting onto building facades, in collaboration with construction companies and building owners.

By turning these ubiquitous negative spaces throughout the city into canvases, we present a unique opportunity for artists to share their work with broad audiences and for building owners to leverage their space in collaboration with the city’s vibrant arts community. 

How our process works:

  • We work with building owners, contractors and scaffolding companies to identify potential Facade locations.

  • Artwork for each location is selected by our in-house curatorial team in collaboration with the artist.

  • We handle the special city permitting, large scale printing and fully licensed & insured installation process from start to finish.

  • No landfills! Once a Facade comes down, its second life begins in the form of being able to make everything with it from framed editions to tote bags.

Contact Us:

If you are a building owner, contractor or scaffolding company who would like to learn more about having a Facade at your job site, please email us here:

buildings@facadefoundation.org

Buildings

If you or your company is interested in sponsoring a Facade or donating to Facade Foundation to help us deliver on our mission please email us here:

donors@facadefoundation.org

Donors

If you’re interested in what we’re doing or if you have a general question, please email us here:

hello@facadefoundation.org

General