SIXTH ANNUAL 7,500 SQ FT 14TH STREET MURAL INSTALLATION: “GET OUTSIDE” BY ARTIST SHANTELL MARTIN UNVEILED IN UNION SQUARE
Photos by Union Square Partnership
Union Square’s newest 14th Street Busway Mural, “Get Outside” by Shantell Martin and presented by Merrell, debuted late last month on 14th Street between Broadway and University Place. The annual 7,500 square foot street mural is an original large-scale piece that will serve as a visual expression of the outside within urban life, building on Martin’s work that explores identity, space, and human connection, and serving as the kickoff installation for Merrell Outside in the City, the footwear brand’s global program redefining what it means to go outside in the modern world. Union Square Partnership’s 14th Street Busway Mural is an award-winning public art program, now in its sixth year, which celebrates Union Square’s role as a meeting point for New Yorkers and visitors while beautifying the public realm.
“Get Outside” features Shantell Martin’s signature spontaneous linework style. The mural channels the belief that people don’t need permission to step outside and engage with the world. It aims to inspire viewers to reconnect with themselves and the community through simple acts like walking, breathing, and noticing the world around us. This mural primarily features white on a black background with bursts of color and an orange thread that becomes a path, asking each person to slow down and meet their own journey again.
This year’s mural is hand-painted by Brooklyn-based Colossal Media and presented in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation’s art program (NYC DOT Art). It serves as the cultural centerpiece of Merrell's Outside in the City program, which reframes the outdoors not as a distant destination, but as something woven into everyday life, from city streets and parks to waterfronts and neighborhood blocks.
Photos by Colossal Media
“Union Square has long been a canvas for artists to display their work, creating new ways for people to experience our public spaces,” said Julie Stein, Executive Director of Union Square Partnership. “The 14th Street busway mural, an award-winning program now in its sixth year, has become a popular public art installation that New Yorkers look forward to year after year. We are excited to unveil this year’s piece alongside Shantell Martin, Merrell, the New York City Department of Transportation Art program and Colossal Media to the hundreds of thousands of residents, workers and visitors who move through the district each day.”
"At Colossal, paint has always been our medium for connection — transforming public spaces into moments of shared experience,” said Jen Edelberg, EVP, Growth at Colossal Media. “Bringing Shantell Martin's iconic visual language to Union Square feels like a natural extension of that mission: a reminder, written large, that 'outside' is everywhere and presence is always possible."
“Union Square is a place I’ve returned to again and again, it’s full of movement, voices, and unexpected moments. This work is about following that energy, encouraging people to walk, notice, and find their own path through the city,” said Shantell Martin, “Get Outside” artist.
Union Square Partnership’s annual 14th Street Busway Mural aims to beautify the streetscape while envisioning the eventual expansion of pedestrian space in the neighborhood. Now in its sixth year, the award-winning mural program exemplifies the momentum driving the tactical urbanism approach to public realm improvements, complementing other initiatives that work in harmony to propel the district toward a shared, long-term vision.
The finished street mural “Get Outside” will be on view in Union Square on 14th Street until spring 2027.
You can find more images of the process and final mural here.