An art of kindness.
A Brooklyn artist is using his talent to raise awareness and funds for Puerto Rico’s post-hurricane relief efforts. Commonly known by his social media handle “Subway Doodle,” Ben Rubin, the artist behind the popular Instagram page, will be donating all funds for his campaign’s artwork titled “Helping Hands.”
The design shows one of his signature blue animations, sporting a cape and Puerto Rican flag, flying over the city with One World Trade in the backdrop. The artist said he was inspired to show solidarity with the territory after feeling an overall disregard from political leaders, and wanted to use his influence to bring attention to it.
“I was mortified by the lack of support Puerto Rico was receiving from our government. I decided to use my art and my social media platform to contribute what I could to the recovery efforts,” said Rubin.
His creative partner said they wanted to use their expressive avenue to encourage others to also get on board with what is happening on the island, and provide them with an artistic way to help.
“We saw how horrible the conditions were down there, and decided to put something together because any amount of support helps,” said Theresa Nasi. “‘Prints for Puerto Rico’ is meant to demonstrate that New Yorkers are doing what they can, and care about what is happening down there.”
And with Rubin’s popularity as an artist, he has a great shot at helping bring charity.
“He has quite a following on Instagram and can get the word across because people pay attention to his work,” said Nasi. “It’s small but we’re doing what we can and hope to raise $1,000.”
The art will be available in 8 x 10 print sizes for $25 at the Subway Doodle website and all funds raised from purchases will be donated to Global Giving — an international grass roots organization.
Prints of the artwork can be found at www.subwa
