New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a new public art initiative that will commission 12 community murals across the city’s five boroughs in celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The commissions will be created by 12 artists working alongside local residents, community organizations, and young people. The murals will be installed in neighborhoods from the Bronx to Staten Island throughout New York City, with each project reflecting the history, culture, and identity of its surrounding community. The mural project is organized by the Groundswell Community Mural Project in partnership with the city’s Departments of Parks & Recreation, Cultural Affairs, and Youth and Community Development.
Community paint days will take place throughout the summer, inviting New Yorkers to help create the permanent artworks to commemorate the millions of visitors who have arrived for the tournament.
The lead artists include Angel Garcia, VASH, Miki Mu, Yolande Delius, Viktoriya Basina, Misha Tyutyunik, Vincent Ballentine, Peach Tao, Carlos Mateu, Colleen Kong-Savage, Mimi Ditkoff, and Lina Montoya, each paired with a different neighborhood across the city’s five boroughs.
“These murals will belong to the neighborhoods that brought them to life—from Fordham Heights to Ocean Hill to Laurelton and communities across our city,” Mamdani said in a statement. “They will showcase the creativity that makes New York unlike anywhere else in the world.”
The mural program is the latest in a growing slate of arts initiatives surrounding the FIFA World Cup. Earlier this year, the city partnered with the Whitney Museum of American Art to distribute a free, artist-designed activity guide to the World Cup designed by Rich Tu.
Meanwhile, the arts non-profit ARTS 14C partnered with FIFA World Cup 2026, to install soccer-ball sculptures by artists including Katherine Bernhardt, Hank Willis Thomas, and Tomokazu Matsuyama across New York City and New Jersey. Several New York City museums, including the Guggenheim Museum and El Museo del Barrio, have been screening select World Cup games.
Together, the initiatives underscore the city's effort to position arts and culture alongside sport as a defining part of New York’s role as a host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
