You Belong Here/We Belong Here

On display at Ticketmaster Plaza at Barclays Center

Installed in 2021 above the subway entrance at Atlantic Avenue on the plaza of Barclays Center, You Belong Here/We Belong Here by Tavares Strachan is a glowing neon artwork that offers both a welcome and a question.

The sculpture was commissioned as a call for inclusivity and connection. It’s familiar visual language - reminiscent of storefront signage and advertising - draws viewers in with a simple phrase that feels both personal and collective. As soon as we read it, the message shifts from “you” to “we,” inviting everyone into a shared sense of belonging.

Rooted in Brooklyn, one of the most diverse urban communities in the world, the work has become an iconic part of the borough’s cityscape and a widely recognized symbol of inclusivity. Positioned at a major point of arrival and transit, it meets residents and visitors alike with a message of welcome that reflects the spirit of the neighborhood.

About the Artist

Tavares Strachan (b. 1979, Nassau, Bahamas) currently lives and works between New York City and Nassau. He received a BFA in Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003 and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University in 2006. He draws on both the resources and community of his birthplace, dividing his time between his studio in New York and Nassau, where he has established an art studio and scientific research platform B.A.S.E.C. (Bahamas Aerospace and Sea Exploration Center) and OKU, a not-for-profit community project encompassing an artist residency and exhibition spaces, a scholarship scheme, and after-school creative programs.

Strachan’s work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions including You Belong Here, Prospect 3. Biennial, New Orleans; The Immeasurable Daydream, Biennale de Lyon, Lyon; Polar Eclipse, The Bahamas National Pavilion 55th Venice Biennale, Venice; Seen/Unseen, Undisclosed Exhibition, New York; Orthostatic Tolerance: It Might Not Be Such a Bad Idea if I Never Went Home Again, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge; Tavares Strachan: There is Light Somewhere, Hayward Gallery, London; Supernovas, Kunsthalle Mannheim; and Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; among others.