The idea was to create a hyperlocal version of the DAVID BOWIE IS exhibition right at the heart of where David Bowie lived in SoHo, hence the name DAVID IS HERE. Research showed that David Bowie was often seen about in the neighborhood like a regular SoHo resident, and so it seemed fitting that this mini-exhibition would be held at his local subway station, Broadway-Lafayette. Each exhibition piece would talk about his life in the area, his favorite spots, where he performed, and recorded his hits—with a Spotify code that played the David Bowie song it inspired.

DAVID BOWIE IS HERE took over all of Broadway-Lafayette station, featuring over 40 unique pieces about the music icon’s life in the neighborhood and New York City. The work covered a spectrum as broad as Bowie’s category-defying career, including never-before-seen images from photographers such as Mick Rock and Masayoshi Sukita, personal artifacts from his archive, new commissioned pieces from longtime collaborators, and a 150-ft anamorphic centerpiece that shows Bowie from two eras. Each piece came accompanied with a Spotify code so commuters could listen to the David Bowie song it inspired. To get fans to the station, we released 250,000 David Bowie MetroCards, available only at Broadway-Lafayette.

DAVID BOWIE IS HERE was a cultural sensation, catching the Metro Transport Authorities off-guard by its overwhelming response, with lines for the limited-edition MetroCards stretching to 2.5 hours. The subway takeover was covered heavily in the media, resulting in over $31 million in earned media impressions. Streams of David Bowie tracks on Spotify increased 28%. 57 million consumers were reached by social sharing in the first week alone—with no paid amplification. “Every now and then you come across something in this city that reminds you why New York is so cool,” reported Fox News.