Artist Fields Harrington, after witnessing a delivery worker get hit by a car in Brooklyn, began photographing the customized bikes of New York City's delivery workers, capturing their gloves, reflective tape, and cultural markers. His series is now featured in MoMA PS1's "Greater New York" exhibition. In a direct act of reciprocity, Harrington convinced the museum to rent a delivery worker's bike and pay its owner, Gustavo Ajche, his usual wage of $21.44 per hour during museum hours. For one week each month, the bike is displayed, and every 21 minutes and 44 seconds, a notification ding sounds, referencing the wage Ajche and his group Los Deliveristas Unidos fought for.
This matters because it bridges the gap between art institutions and the often-invisible labor force that powers urban life, turning a museum exhibition into a platform for advocacy. By paying a delivery worker for their time off the job, Harrington and MoMA PS1 challenge the gig economy's lack of benefits like paid time off, using art to model a more equitable relationship between labor and leisure. The project reframes rest as a political act and highlights how artists can collaborate with workers to demand systemic change, making the exhibition a living protest rather than a passive display.