New Yorkers and tourists in Times Square took a trip back in time on Tuesday, courtesy of repurposed phone booths outfitted with oral histories from the city’s storied immigrant population.
Afghan-American artist Aman Mojadidi and Times Square Arts on Tuesday introduced the interactive art installation “Once Upon A Time,” which allows participants to listen to the stories of immigrants who moved to New York through the receivers of old pay phones – once a common sight on city streets.
Mojadid came up with the idea when he heard that the phone booths were being removed.
“I wanted to do sort of an urban project about migration, a storytelling project,” he said.
“For me the fact that these phone booths were being removed, I immediately thought about bringing them back and putting a different kind of story into them.”
The artist reworked three phone booths and collected stories from several immigrants who now call New York home. Their stories were recorded in English or in their native languages.
Visitors can step into the booths and listen to the narrations on the phone.
Marelisa Morejon, an immigrant from Cuba, decided to listen as she passed by the installation.
“There is something very original and very unique,” Morejon said.
“You can hear different histories, and it’s very touching.”
Visitors and New Yorkers will be able to hear the stories until September 5.