Along 14th Street, from Avenue A to the Hudson River, a unique, grassroots arts initiative pops up each year in New York City with a mission “to stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm,” bringing art outside of traditional spaces and into to the streets through a wide range of performances, demonstrations, happenings, and actions.

Art in Odd Places was initially conceived in 1996, in Atlanta, by artist Ed Woodham, who later moved to New York and reimagined the project as “a response to the dwindling of public space and personal civil liberties. It initially popped up in the Lower East Side and East Village before transitioning to its current hub along 14th Street.

This year’s festival opens tomorrow and runs through October 20, programmed around the theme of “CARE.” More than 75 artists alight on the pavements, highlighting a range of visual and performance-based practices that invite passersby to experience creativity in surprising ways. “Art opens a space of empathy—an invitation to see through the eyes and heart and mind of another,” says a statement for this year’s edition. “An act of hope and imagination—art can help us dream new ways and new worlds into being.”

Learn more and plan your visit on the festival’s website.

All images courtesy of Art in Odd Places.