Art in the Parks

Going Back to The Meadows is a sculptural sonic performance artwork dedicated to Queens hip-hop legend LL Cool J, his hometown of Queens, NY, and historical performances at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The sculpture includes a traditionally sculpted portrait bust of LL Cool J sitting atop a mirror polished stainless steel radio design and steel pedestal frame. The pedestal design includes references to LL’s unique style and career accolades and Queens landmarks. The sculpture’s audio speakers are solar powered, highlighting the use of green technology.

This exhibition is made possible by the Art in the Parks: Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park Grant, which supports the creation of site-specific public artworks by Queens-based artists for two sites within Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The Giving Tree brings awareness to the environmental concerns in the Queens community and elevates Flushing Meadows Corona Park as one that leads the future. This artificial tree will use wind power to generate electricity to light the park and provide a charging station for park visitors. It serves as a form of altruism to promote a higher level of collective consciousness and cooperation, which are necessary to ensure our collective well-being and even survival.

This exhibition is made possible by the Art in the Parks: Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park Grant, which supports the creation of site-specific public artworks by Queens-based artists for two sites within Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

In 2021, BODYARMOR Sports Drink and Naomi Osaka kicked off a court renovation initiative designed to revitalize tennis courts she grew up playing on, enriching the community, inspiring youth sports organizations through art, and ultimately reminding everyone to play to have fun, because after all, tennis is a game.

This exhibition is presented by BODYARMOR.

The piece is a way to honor those who have died during COVID. It’s also a way to celebrate the community moving forward to make a better world for our youth by taking what we as a community have learned and working together for change.

The Afro pick originated over 5500 years ago in Africa as a way to honor, celebrate, educate, and empower.

Funded by RPGA Studio, Council member Koslowitz, and ConEd

This sculpture was created in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is an expression of support for all who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This simple yet powerful sculpture of a bright red heart serves as a reminder of the love and comfort we found in each other.

A whimsical take on the ever-present New York Poop pickup predicament. Made of porcelain, metal, and acrylic, this mixed media installation reminds dog owners to clean up after their four-legged friends. This work is inspired by artist Yvonne Shortt and her adventures in Forest Park’s dog run with her Airedale terrier Peppermint.

This exhibition is presented by RPGA Studio, Inc.

RockIt Black is a continuation of sculptor Tanda Francis’ work, dedicated to undoing the stigmatization of Blackness by presenting Black identities as divine and the foundation of our shared humanity. The aim of RockIt Black is to open up the public’s consciousness to the divine feminine energy for the purpose of balance and healing. Mami Wata, Oshun, an African Goddess by the East River is the inspiration. She is a cleansing spirit for this world on fire. Rockit Black’s polished mirror ornament is inspired by Oshun’s mirror and its shape and surface is made to suggest a nestled and a portal to another dimension. The mirrored surface faces the tree-filtered rising sun and faces the neighboring Queensbridge Houses.

The Plywood Protection Project is an initiative to collect the plywood used by NYC businesses to board up their windows during the protests of 2020 and redistribute it to artists, extending and repurposing the life of this material. Arts not-for-profit worthless studios collected over 200 boards of plywood and initiated an open call for artists, eventually selecting five local makers to participate in a unifying public art project across all five boroughs of New York. This piece is one of the five created by the project, each installed in a different borough of New York City.

This exhibition is presented by worthless studios.

Endangered Fossils”represent an imagined archaeological excavation of New York State’s large fossil record. The sculptures are inspired by the trilobites, brachiopods and crinoids who flourished during the Devonian period, ~400 million years ago. These crab, clam, and starfish like organisms lived in marine environments very similar to the coral reefs of today. The project ponders the origin of the ecosystem we inhabit and our role, relationship, and responsibility to that environment in light of cataclysmic climate change and global pandemics.

Since its inception in 1986, Socrates Sculpture Park has been a sanctuary for artists and the public. Applicants to the 2021 open call were asked to submit proposals that addressed the many meanings of sanctuary – as spaces of rest and protection; as sacred sites; and as supportive environments. Most crucially, artists were asked: how can art function as a sanctuary, a place of refuge, rest and meditation – without resorting to escapism?

The eleven projects selected represent a range of interpretations, drawing from diverse communities, traditions, and artistic strategies to create unique sculptures and installations. Several threads emerge throughout the exhibition, including practices of self-care, the spiritual elements of natural phenomena, and meditations on the conditions that necessitate sanctuary. Some projects provide space for mourning modes of oppression and acknowledge that sanctuaries are not always spaces free from fear.

For many of the artists, sanctuary is not necessarily a fixed geographical location, but a time-bound space that is created and recreated against the backdrop of threats such as illness, climate change, the collapse of the social service systems, and violence of racism and colonialism. Sound – both musical and spoken words – situate and unite communities of sanctuary in many of these works, a visceral mode of communicating refuge. This exhibition is presented by Socrates Sculpture Park.