Martha Atienza, a Dutch-Filipino artist, was featured in Times Square Arts on July 2, 2024. Her video artwork "Our Islands 11°16’58.4”N 123°45’07.0”E" will be showcased at the Midnight Moment Summer Season this July. Midnight Moment, the world's largest and longest-running digital art exhibition, displays artworks on over 95 electronic billboards in Times Square every night from 11:57 p.m. to midnight, and is a key part of New York's art scene.
The artwork "Our Islands 11°16’58.4”N 123°45’07.0”E" features a procession of men in altered costumes of important Filipino figures, including Roman centurions, the Santo Niño, Manny Pacquiao, and a nurse with a man holding a "Yolanda Survivor" sign. These characters appear on the seabed, highlighting Filipino culture and the threat of climate collapse facing Southeast Asia. A plaque at the Pintô Art Museum explains, "Our Islands serve as a reminder of our planet's condition, and how we face the loss and rediscovery of our culture."
According to the Times Square Arts website, artists are chosen by a selection committee that includes Times Square Arts staff, billboard operators, and experts in design, public art, and video art.
Artists like Kehinde Wiley, Charles Gaines, Joan Jonas, and Mel Chin have been selected in the past to offer fresh perspectives on Times Square.
Although Atienza's video work is shown for just three minutes each night, "Our Islands" is a 72-minute film featuring underwater divers in costumes, carrying a religious figure as they walk on the ocean floor. This film won the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel in 2017 and was acquired by the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi in 2022.