Art at Amtrak Program to Debut at Washington Union Station in September

New initiative commissions regional artists to create large-scale artwork

WASHINGTON – Amtrak is expanding its celebrated year-round, public-art program to Washington Union Station with work from multidisciplinary visual artist, Tim Doud. Art at Amtrak will offer a variety of visual works through rotating exhibitions at the transportation hub.

Doud, a District resident and professor at American University, will create the first site-specific installation titled, “A Great Public Walk,” to transform the wall along the station’s customer waiting areas between Gates A and L, and on the 30 windows in the hallway leading to the lower-level section of station. More information on Doud can be found here.

The art installation will open in September and remain on display until winter 2024. Art at Amtrak is among several near-term projects underway at Washington Union Station. Other projects include upgrading the men’s and women’s restrooms, and the Metropolitan Lounge.

“Bringing contemporary art to Union Station will brighten the atmosphere and continues our ongoing commitment to enhance the customer experience in our stations,” said Amtrak Vice President, Northeast Corridor Service Line Jina Sanone Jina Sanone. “Art at Amtrak is a great opportunity to provide artists a significant platform and showcase the region’s vibrancy.”

Amtrak launched Art at Amtrak in June 2022 in New York Penn Station. The program has commissioned installations by various New York and New Jersey based artists including Derrick Adams, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Dahlia Elsayed, David Rios Ferreira, Ghost of a Dream, Shoshanna Weinberger and Saya Woolfalk. Adams was also the first artist to create original digital work for the four large screens in Moynihan Train Hall. The Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan Train Hall features new work from multidisciplinary visual artist Karen Margolis, on view through Summer 2024.

Amtrak has engaged Debra Simon Art Consulting to curate and produce Art at Amtrak. Simon was Director of Public Art at the Times Square Alliance; created Arts Brookfield, the largest privately funded public art program in the United States; and co-founded the River-to-River festival.

More information about Art at Amtrak can be found here.

The advisory committee for Art at Amtrak comprises members of the art world with local community leaders, including:

• Michelle Isabelle-Stark, Director, Arlington County’s Cultural Affairs;
• Nancy Miyahira, Vice President, Marketing Director, Georgetown BID DC;
• Hiroshi Jacobs, Artist and Architecture, Hi-Jac Studio;
• Frederick Lippert, Deputy Director of Planning and Programing, MDOT MTA;
• Nick Hartigan, Art Historian and Fine Arts Specialist, U.S. General Services Administration Fine Arts;
• Jordan Martin, Curatorial Production Manager, Washington Project for the Arts;
• Laurent Odde, Program Manager Art in Transit, WMATA;
• Lauren Dugas Glover, Public Art Manager, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities;
• Amanda MacKaye, Runs the Fort Reno Concert Series;
• Malake Glee, Inaugural Director, STABLE D.C.;
• Rhonda Dallas, CEO and Chief Curator, Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council;
• Kyle A Nembhard, Program Manager, Capital Programs, Washington, Amtrak;
• Sharon Tepper, Director, Infrastructure Planning NY Gateway Program, Amtrak;
• Debra Simon, Curator, Art at Amtrak and President, Debra Simon Art Consulting.