Midnight Moment (Times Square billboards)

Times Square’s “Midnight Moment,” called “the world’s largest and longest-running digital public art program,” began in 2012. Every night, from 11:57 p.m. until midnight, the billboards in New York City’s Times Square give up their commercial advertising and join together to present public art. A different artist is featured every month.
 
   
Times Square
Midnight Moment
Midnight Moment is the world’s largest and longest-running digital public art program. Presented nightly to millions of viewers each year, Midnight Moment showcases the work of contemporary artists on one of the most iconic public canvases — the electronic billboards of Times Square.
 
Synchronized nightly from 11:57pm to 12am on over 92 digital displays spanning 41st to 49th Streets, this program brings public art on a monumental scale to New Yorkers and visitors from all across the globe, 364 nights a year.
 
Presenting a new Midnight Moment each month, the program has featured the work of over 100 artists since 2012, thanks to the Times Square Advertising Coalition and our participating billboard operators.
   
NewScientist
Neurons light up Times Square for Midnight Moment
By Tim Maughan
25 November 2014
(...)
What’s less well known – to both NYC residents and passing tourists – is that every night, at three minutes to midnight, many of the occupying brands give up their prized real estate for three minutes in the name of art, as part of the Times Square Advertising Coalition’s Midnight Moment project.
 
Sixteen : Nine
Projects: Billboard Ads Take A Break For A Midnight Moment In Times Square
May 6, 2016 by Dave Haynes
Via The Creators Project
If you are making your way through New York’s Time Square very late one evening this month, you may see the LED boards around the area suddenly fill up with flowers, in an art project called Midnight Moment.
 
At 11:57 each night, the ad rotation changes over to public art for three minutes – and artist Jennifer Steinkamp’s video piece Botanic is running right now.
 
It’s an art program that’s been running for four years, put together by Times Square Arts since 2012, with support from the Times Square Advertising Coalition. Obviously, the big board owners would have to be cooperating to free up the time and sync up systems.
       
Instagram
mpalaciosfdez
July 16, 2019
Midnight Moment at Times Square.
It is the world’s largest, longest running digital art exhibition synchronized on electronic billboards throughout Times Square nightly from 11.57pm to midnight.
This time is Federico Solmi’s American Circus - July 1-31.
@tsqarts @federico_solmi #midnightmoment .
 
The Drum
Midnight Moment highlights art in Times Square in honor of Advertising Week
By Kyle O’Brien, Creative Works Editor
September 12, 2019
The Midnight Moment is an artistic takeover of the digital screens in Times Square – advertising’s biggest outdoor venue – where three minutes each day are dedicated to a digital art exhibition. For September, the art is by someone from the advertising industry, thanks in part to Advertising Week, the event that takes place later this month.
 
New York (NY) Post
Times Square’s decade-old ‘Midnight Moment’ is having a social media moment: ‘It’s just magical’
By Marie Pohl and Katherine Donlevy
Published Dec. 19, 2024, 3:00 p.m. ET
It’s New Year’s Eve every night for all with eyes to see.
 
The “Midnight Moment” in Times Square has been lighting up the tourist attraction every night for 12 years, but is enjoying renewed interest thanks to the power of social media.
 
As many as 70 people recently braved pouring rain to witness the art installation — which is a synchronized show across dozens of electronic billboards for just three minutes ahead of midnight that showcases the eye-catching work of rotating artists.
   
YouTube
How Times Square transforms into massive art display every midnight
TODAY
Dec 29, 2024 #balldrop #timessquare #newyears
Every New Year’s Eve, New York’s Times Square is packed with hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. But there is a little-known magic moment that happens there every other day of the year. Just before the clock strikes 12 a.m., synchronized digital art dances across the massive screens in what’s called the Midnight Moment. NBC’s Emilie Ikeda reports in this week’s Sunday Spotlight.
 
YouTube
Artists on Midnight Moment
Times Square NYC
Jan 9, 2025
Artists including Jeffrey Gibson, Nick Cave, Rafia, Federico Solmi, Christian Marclay, Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Kambui Olujimi, Tali Keren and Alex Strada, Zino Saro-Wiwa, Nora Maité-Nieves, Sophie Calle, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Ilana Harris-Babou, Shahzia Sikander, and FX Harsono talk about seeing their work on the screens of Times Square as part of the Midnight Moment program, which begun in 2012.
 
Facebook
Experience the Big Apple NYC
April 21, 2026
Did you that every night at 11:57 pm, nearly all the Times Square billboard join forces and display a giant work of digital art called The Midnight Moment?
For the best views of the Midnight Moment, I suggest you arrive a little early, find the red steps at 46th st and Broadway, and make your way to the very top step.
The Midnight Moment is a magical New York City secret where all the Times Square billboards sync up and show the same thing.
Oh, and did you know you can submit art for The Midnight Moment? Visit the Times Square Alliance’s website to learn how!