What's that weird sound in the subway station? Listen up for these new audio artworks

You're probably familiar with the phrase, "if you see something, say something." But there's a new phrase being announced over the airwaves in NYC subway stations: "if you hear something, free something."

Next time you ride the subway, you may hear that poetic phrase and many others announced as part of a sound artwork by artist Chloë Bass. Though art in the subway is nothing new, this project is the first to use the MTA's broadcast system. You can hear it through Sunday, October 5. 

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The exhibition is meant to tap into the purpose of the public address, the way it provides riders with a fleeting moment of everyday connection. After all, as public transit riders, we're attuned to remove our headphones and listen up when announcements come over the loudspeaker—and repeat them to fellow passengers who didn't hear. 

The sounds won't just play in English; they'll also play in Spanish, Arabic, Bangla, Haitian Kreyòl and Mandarin. Expect to hear announcements intermittently in key station mezzanines, reaching hundreds of thousands of riders. Each recording will begin with a custom tone, designed by Bass in collaboration with artist Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, followed by one of 24 total announcements spoken by professional performers and everyday New Yorkers.

Here's where to hear the art:

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

To create each poetic announcement, Bass assembled a diverse series of focus groups to consider "what sounds and stories might call us to somewhere familiar, or bring us to a place of ease," per a press release about the art. 

As an artist, Bass is well known for her multidimensional practice, which uses daily life as a site of deep research to address scales of intimacy—and "if you hear something, free something" is the latest extension of that ethos.

If we change what we hear, can we change how we feel, and in turn, will we be better neighbors? 

"We're used to thinking of certain conditions as given, when they're actually a product of design. 'If you hear something, free something' offers one opportunity to feel how a system might be different, or introduce us to other possibilities, if it were designed with a more open emotional mindset," Bass said in a press release. "It's not just about the announcements. It's about the ways we feel together in public space."

As curator Diya Vij adds: "She asks us to consider, if we change what we hear, can we change how we feel, and in turn, will we be better neighbors?"

The work is presented by Creative Time and MTA Arts & Design.