Phone Booths Return To Midtown As Part Of Art Installation

MIDTOWN, NEW YORK — Times Square has apparently traveled back in time with old fashioned phone booths dotting the area – though you won't need spare change to use them.

Times Square Arts and artist Aman Mojadidi have worked together to bring to life "Once Upon A Place," an interactive art installation that uses disused phone booths to relate immigrants' stories. The three repurposed phone booths were placed in Duffy Square, at 46th Street and 7th Avenue and will be on display until Sept. 5.

Visitors can enter one of the booths and pick up the receiver to hear personal stories of immigration from "the newest New Yorkers." A phone book inside the booths details these personal histories and allows for guests to write their own.

The installation includes 70 stories about immigrants from countries such as Burkina Faso, Tibet and Puerto Rico. Afghan-American artist Mojadidi recorded the stories over several months as part of his residency at Times Square Arts with the hope of creating a safe environment for immigrants to share their personal experiences, either in English or in their mother tongue.

The project aims to explore the rich variety of perspective and journeys that the term "immigrant" signifies. The phone booths provide an intimate setting to reflect on these stories, organizers said.

Watch the video below to learn more about the exhibit and its creator Aman Mojadidi.

Lead image via Jim Pennucci/Flickr