Sprint Unveils ‘Art in the Prow’ At The Historic Flatiron Building In New York

Environmentally-friendly sculpture made entirely of reclaimed and repurposed materials reflects Sprint’s green approach

NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE), May 23, 2011 – Today, Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) is proud to unveil ‘Art in the Prow’ at the historic Flatiron Building. ‘Art in the Prow’ will feature artists from New York and around the country, and exhibits will rotate every six weeks. Kansas City native Miles Neidinger is the first featured artist. His piece entitled “Everything We See is Never Enough” is created entirely of reclaimed and repurposed materials including twist ties, neon drinking straws, red jumbo drinking straws and yarn that branch out to resemble organic foliage.

The Flatiron Building in New York is an icon in the city and is widely recognized for its unique architectural features and design. Over the years, the Flatiron Building attracted the attention of many artists. Photographs, sculptures and abstract painting have all have been created and displayed showcasing the Flatiron Building. And, it even has been used in one of Sprint’s recent commercials featuring Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse. Since 1997, Sprint has occupied the retail space in the building including the prow on the ground floor.

“New York is home to many leading art museums, schools and artists,” said Karen Paletta, regional vice president, Sprint. “I am proud that we will be able to showcase the talents of these artists in the prow of our Sprint retail store. And, it is exciting to see that our first exhibit features everyday materials that are being repurposed and reused. Sprint is committed to being a corporate leader in environmental responsibility, offering our customers green devices to purchase and encouraging them to recycle used wireless phones.”

Communication and nature were Neidinger’s inspiration for the “Everything We See is Never Enough” sculpture. The sculpture will be on display through July. Sprint will be announcing in the near future how artists can apply to have their artwork featured in the prow of the Flatiron Building.

Neidinger is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute. Some of his recent exhibitions include the Hook Gallery grand opening; Finch Gallery in Chicago; Rare Gallery in New York; Family Event home for the holidays at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City; “Museum Interrupted” at The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kan.; “WE” at the Town Pavilion in Kansas City, MO; and the Charlotte Street Fund Exhibition at JCCC in Overland Park, Kan. Neidinger is an Arts Through Architecture participant and a Charlotte Street Foundation Award recipient. His work has been published in Art in America, The Kansas City Star, Review Magazine and Pitch Weekly.

Leading in Sustainability

Sprint is committed to helping customers protect the environment. In addition to advancing its sustainable product goals, which include launching iconic “green” devices, Sprint is working to manage the environmental impacts of devices using a full life-cycle view, whether it be working with Underwriter’s Laboratory Environment to develop a global green phone standard or enhancing our industry-leading phone recycling efforts. Since 2001, Sprint’s wireless reuse and recycling take-back programs have kept more than 24 million phones out of landfills, helping to conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent air and water pollution.

Sprint’s sustainability website, www.sprint.com/green, details Sprint’s green mobile applications and helps customers learn about the company’s sustainability initiatives, including online bill pay, wireless recycling programs and acquiring green tips, such as using mobile GPS to calculate the quickest route to save gas. To learn more about Sprint programs that protect the environment, go to www.sprint.com/responsibility or follow @SprintGreenNews on Twitter.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 51 million customers at the end of 1Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.