Project Description

In the spirit of promoting and highlighting uplifting messages about connecting with and caring for one another during challenging times and beyond, Metro piloted a new series, Silver Linings. Local artists were commissioned to create original artworks that visualize and encourage expressions of connection and care. Artworks created for the series were reproduced for digital and print display in Metro’s transportation system to serve as reminders that acts of care, however large or small, are also essential and can be the silver lining on tough days.

These new artworks were featured as posters in Metro buses from December 2020 through July 2021.

Artist Statement

“The valuable services provided by essential workers and the power of arts and culture are heightened during challenging times.”

About the Artist

STEPHANIE MERCADO is a multidisciplinary artist influenced by her life as a working-class Angeleno in Boyle Heights from a family of artisans that introduced the tools, craft and strong work ethic necessary to survive as tradespeople. Mercado’s work explores the proverbial American Dream and psychology of labor. She arranges hand-printed elements on colored paper to form narratives that represent growth and flowering into being. Mercado has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California State University, Long Beach, a residency with the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an award from the International Print Center New York and exhibits internationally. She is in permanent collections in Texas, New Mexico and Georgia.

On display December 2020 – February 2021