Signs of Hope

A deeply moving, candid, and inspiring collection of personal missives and color images from the most expressive subway wall in the world, a tribute to the diverse voices of a teeming city.

New Yorkers are never short on opinions, and Matthew "Levee" Chavez observed in early 2016 that given the chance, they wanted to talk. He brought a table and chairs to subway platforms and spoke with anyone keen on conversing. A practiced listener and secret keeper for commuters, Chavez showed up in the subway a day after the presidential election with stacks of brightly colored sticky notes. "Express yourself," he told passersby. The response was electric.

As the colorful squares spread along the tiled wall, a vast mosaic of personal messages took shape, beautiful to behold, rich with personality, cathartic and consoling. Calling himself "Levee"--one who supports the city's emotional tide--Chavez turned a communal underground maze into an ever-changing, ever-growing art space known as Subway Therapy. Thousands have picked up the mantle to create Subway Therapy walls in cities across the nation, including San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

Capturing the feelings leaping from the wonderfully diverse 3-x-3-inch notes and weaving in quotes from Chavez and participants about the project, Signs of Hope 's intimate reflections, humorous musings, fond remembrances, and fierce calls to action reach out with unencumbered love to one another and to us. Individually, these "posts" bravely bring the personal and the momentary into the open. Together, they show us a vision of inclusivity, communication, and hope.