Colette Copeland’s Midnight Moment: Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy)

Photo: Michael Hull

Presented in partnership with The Alternative Art School, Copeland submerges Times Square in a milky bath across 90+ billboards throughout January.

Nightly through January 31 | 11:57pm–12am
Times Square | Between 41st and 49th Streets

Times Square Arts, the largest public platform for contemporary visual arts and performance, is pleased to present Texas-based artist Colette Copeland’s Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy) as January’s Midnight Moment, on view through January 31, 2026 on over 90 electronic billboards in Times Square—including two new sets of screens recently added to the program, thanks to KEVANI with displays on 47th St & 7th Ave, plus RXR and New Tradition with displays on 42nd St & 7th Ave. Screening nightly from 11:57pm to midnight, Galaxias tou Gala(Milk Galaxy) presents a poetic homage to the artist’s mother and a celebration of mature beauty as resilient, evolving, and deeply human.

Copeland’s video work draws inspiration from poet Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey, exploring themes of growth through pain, intergenerational strength, and the quiet power of aging. Centering on the fragmented figure of the artist immersed in a milk bath filled with flowers, the video is intimately framed and uses gentle pacing and layered visual textures to convey a narrative of enduring grace. 

Through subtle gestures and stillness, the video’s subject embodies a beauty that transcends youth—rooted in experience, vulnerability, and dignity. With its emotive resonance and visual sensitivity, Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy) offers a compelling reflection on love, memory, and the many ways women continue to bloom—softly or boldly—across a lifetime.

“My video pays tribute to my mother and celebrates mature beauty—a beauty often overlooked, yet rich with resilience, grace, and depth,” said Colette Copeland.

Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy) is made in collaboration with editor Richard Bailey, composer and original score performer Dallin Peacock, videographer Gia Randazzo, and makeup artist Chris Michelle. 

January’s Midnight Moment is co-presented by Times Square Arts and The Alternative Art School (TAAS), a global online non-traditional art school and residency program. This new partnership offers mentorship for TAAS students applying to the Midnight Moment open call. 

ABOUT COLETTE COPELAND
Colette Copeland is an interdisciplinary visual artist based in Granbury, Texas. Inspired by Dada and Fluxus, her artistic practice combines personal narratives, history, and contemporary culture using a variety of media including video, photography, sound, performance, printmaking, and sculptural installation. Her performance videos utilize experimental narrative strategies to map the complexities of human and non-human relationships.

Over more than three decades, Copeland has held 40 solo exhibitions and 170 group exhibitions and festivals across 35 countries. She holds a BFA from the Pratt Institute and an MFA from Syracuse University and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas.

Copeland received a 2023–24 Fulbright Scholar Research Award to document contemporary female artists in India working with socially engaged practices and to develop an experimental sound project that amplifies the voices of female, non-binary, and queer communities. She writes for Glasstire and Arteidolia. 

ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVE ART SCHOOL 
The Alternative Art School offers an online Global Residency Program and art courses led by some of the world’s most visionary artists. Entirely online and designed for working artists everywhere, TAAS provides an active, invigorating, and non-traditional space for making and learning.

The Global Residency Membership is a toolkit for being an artist in the 21st century. It is diverse and deeply connected. Instructors know each artist’s name and practice, and workshops are affordable, in-depth, and enriched by a globally diverse cohort. The program includes continuous programming with visiting lecturers and weekly participatory sessions.

ABOUT TIMES SQUARE ARTS
Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborates with contemporary artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world’s most iconic urban places. Through the Square’s electronic billboards, public plazas, vacant areas and popular venues, and the Alliance’s own online landscape, Times Square Arts invites leading contemporary creators, such as Charles Gaines, Joan Jonas, Jeffrey Gibson, Pamela Council, Mel Chin and Kehinde Wiley, to help the public see Times Square in new ways. Times Square has always been a cultural district and place of risk, innovation and creativity, and the arts program ensures these qualities remain central to the district’s unique identity.