Gen AI is bringing New Yorkers' imagination to life
Today, we are announcing “Imagine If…,” a project that invites New Yorkers across all five boroughs to co-create a city-wide art experience with local artists. The project is an artistic and cultural project by Google and OUTFRONT, dedicated to sparking conversation and inspiring artists and creatives to explore the future of creativity.
“Imagine If…” asks New Yorkers to share their wildest, most inspiring visions for New York City, or their borough. Ever imagined Manhattan's skyscrapers as vertical farms or Brooklyn’s brownstones shimmering with neon magic? This is your chance to create it. Artists will then use Google generative AI models, like Veo and Nano Banana, to visualize your ideas and bring them to life city-wide.
Here's how it works:
- Spot a screen: As you move through the city’s transit system this November, keep an eye out for “Imagine If…” across OUTFRONT's digital screens.
- Share your ‘Imagine If…’: Scan the QR code to submit your idea.
- See the magic: Instantly see and share a visualization of your imagined New York City.
Brought to life by local artists
To bring New Yorkers' ideas to life on a city-wide scale we’ve partnered with five talented local artists — one from each borough — who will serve as the campaign's visual architects. These artists will select written submissions from their borough as inspiration. They will then use Veo to transform the community’s collective visions into stunning video artworks.
Staten Island–based illustrator Ariana Cimino paints with pure joy. A School of Visual Arts graduate, she fills her work with color, charm, and plenty of dogs- her favorite muses. Blending playful energy with thoughtful detail, Ariana creates portraits of people and pets as well as collaborative projects that radiate warmth. Whether it’s a beloved pet or a city scene, her art always smiles back.
Queens-based Jeff Wave is a musician and multidisciplinary artist whose work blends technology, architecture, and design with human-centered storytelling. His style is futuristic but approachable, combining sound, visuals, and spatial ideas to create immersive experiences. Inspired by the structures and creators around him, Jeff aims to spark curiosity in young artists, connecting imagination and inspiration to real-world creativity.
Lauren Camara is a Bronx-based, self-taught artist and graphic designer who creates layered, colorful portraits entirely from meticulously cut paper. Her work turns everyday moments into visual stories, capturing both their beauty and the complex narratives they hold. Through her art, Lauren highlights the people and communities that inspire her, showing how ordinary encounters can reveal extraordinary stories.
Molly Goldfarb is a Manhattan-based studio artist known for her vibrant acrylic paintings, limited edition digital works, and marker drawings. Her pop-meets-punk style brings movement, color, and attitude to abstract portraits, otherworldly scenes, plant studies, and visual notes from daily life and travels. A fixture in New York galleries and pop-ups, she’s exhibited internationally, always chasing the next idea, brushstroke, or burst of creative energy.
Brooklyn-based artist Subway Doodle turns everyday subway rides into surreal adventures. His signature blue monsters slip into city scenes, sharing seats with commuters and photobombing New Yorkers in the wild. He’s a two-time Emmy winner and the only artist besides Banksy featured solo at the Banksy Museum. His work reminds us that the city’s chaos is always just one doodle away from magic.
Starting today, look for the artists’ creations across thousands of digital screens throughout the MTA’s subway stations. For four weeks, New York’s transit network will become a moving gallery of collective imagination.
The grand finale will take place on December 14 in Times Square, where the most compelling pieces from these artists will be showcased on OUTFRONT's iconic digital screens on the north end of Times Square.
Not in NYC? No problem! Bring your imagination to life with Veo and Nano Banana in the Gemini app today.
