If you hear something, free something was my first fully sonic project. It was produced as a public art commission presented by Creative Time in partnership with MTA Arts & Design. The MTA serves millions of New York City residents daily, spanning every single neighborhood and social boundary. It is where every denomination of New York City meets. A monumental but fleeting gesture, If you har something, free something made use of New York City Transit’s PA system with a series of sonic artworks consisting of 24 poetic announcements that build a practice of everyday care and question the usual purposes of public address.

The sonic artworks—in English, Spanish, Arabic, Bangla, Haitian Kreyòl, and Mandarin—played intermittently from September 3 to October 5, 2025 in key station mezzanines, reaching hundreds of thousands of riders. ASL translations are available on Creative Time’s website, and played on video monitors in the Fulton Transit Hub. Each announcement began with a custom tone, designed in collaboration with artist Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, and ended with a chorus of voices, prompting If you hear something, free something.

Announcements played in the following stations:

Manhattan
Fulton St (4,5)
14 St-Union Sq (4,5,6)
42 St-Bryant Pk/5 Av (7)
Grand Central-42 St (S)
163 St-Amsterdam Av (A,C)

Queens
Court Sq (7,G)
74 St-Broadway (7)
Mets- Willets Point (7)

Brooklyn
Clinton-Washington Avs (G)
Fort Hamilton Pkwy (F,G)
York St (F)
Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr (2,3,4,5)

Bronx
167 St (B,D)
Westchester Sq-E Tremont Av (6)

The project debuted with a live performance in the Fulton Transit Center, the only time when all 24 announcements could be heard in order. The concluding form of the work is a limited edition vinyl EP produced by Creative Time, which comes with an exhibition catalog in the form of a record booklet. 

Thank you to the vocalists: Gelsey Bell, Jean Ann Douglass, Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, Rena Anakwe, Abdelrazek Abdelhamid, Calogero Gambino, Farah Mehreen Ahmad, Natalia Mendez, Olive Zwicky, Samantha Cortez, Vladimir Francois, Wilson Zhang, and ASL actors Zavier Sabió and Treshelle Edmond.Thanks as well to the additional live performers: Ashley Grier, Samantha Riott, Samara Lubelski, Isabel Crespo Pardo, Jimin Seo, Francisco Marquez; and Performance ASL Interpreters: Lisa Dennett, David Rivera (Deaf Interpreter)