There is a $1 vending machine inside the Whitney spitting out NYC prints

Back in 2020, printmaker Anastasia Inciardi was looking for change during a nation-wide quarter shortage in order to do laundry. Although finding the coins proved to be difficult, the conundrum sparked an idea that germinated into an exciting project that has now landed her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

One of Inciardi's now-famous mini print vending machines has, in fact, taken residence at the museum's gift shop, encouraging passersby to insert four quarters to receive a surprise, NYC-themed mini print. 

"There is something novel about vending machines," the artist says when asked about her choice of medium. "The element of surprise, not knowing what you’re going to get, makes each interaction with it new and special."

The original installment of the Maine-based artist's project debuted at specialty grocer Big Night in Brooklyn this past September. Visitors put in a dollar-worth of coins and got a mini print depicting either a tin of sardines, a piece of farfalle pasta, a green olive or a stick of butter.

The vending machine at the Whitney is currently filled with images of "nostalgic identifiable NYC iconography," according to a press release. Think of a black and white cookie, for example, a subway car, a building with a fire escape, the High Line and a classic NYC coffee cup. 

In total, Inciardi created ten prints of the city. 

" I definitely will not claim what makes an NYC icon, but, I do feel there are many identifiable things that New Yorkers and tourists alike can relate to—whether that be a slice of pizza to represent your first NYC slice during a trip here, or a bodega cat to remind you of a kitten at your local bodega," she said. "The same goes with the lox, hot dog cart and Central Park Bench."

Although the device will stay on premise indefinitely, an official spokesperson revealed that museum staff has had to refill the prints a bunch of times during the first few days of the machine's residency already—so try to get there relatively soon.

There's just something uniquely romantic about carrying around a piece of NYC in your pocket for the price of a dollar.