Art in the Parks

"Power Flowers” is a vibrant temporary art installation that brightens and beautifies the entrance to Bronx Park at Webster Avenue and 204th Street. Consisting of circular medallions that are individually designed to resemble flowers or actually based on flowers, they were created using the handcraft technique of crochet. The crocheted medallions are multi-colored and densely worked, thereby creating an explosion of color which will be seen from a long distance.

This exhibition is presented by Mosholu Preservation Corporation.

In honor of the Boricua community, “Belonging” is a visual ode to the majestic and resilient community. Its convergent waves serve as a metaphor for the universal pride that all Puerto Ricans carry within and the soulful commitment to their advancement-whether on the island or in New York City. Standing together forever, united as one, familia.

This artwork is exhibited as part of NYC Parks’ Creative Courts initiative, which works with partner organizations to transform dated sports courts and asphalt plazas into vibrant and welcoming places with original murals that re-engage communities with their local parks.

This exhibition is presented by Nike.

The ultimate challenge is climbing the highest mountain, testing yourself to reach your greatest accomplishment. Once you conquer it, you achieve all the glory.

This exhibition is presented by Hoops in the Sun and Project Backboard.

In Beacon, a profile of a child’s face represents the flame of a candle. The base of the sculpture forms the stylized candle, and the face rises from it, driving out the darkness with their light, serving as a guiding beacon through life’s troubles. Though made of bronze, a hard material, the sculpture is designed to form a light, wispy profile. It is inspired by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote, which would be on a plaque accompanying the sculpture: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

With Lost Boys, Claiborne challenges established notions of cultural legibility and encourages viewers to delve deeper into the origins, embodiment, and sufficiency of Blackness, including its impact on mental health. Text superimposed upon the repeated face of an unidentified Black male youth takes center stage, sourced from a photograph captured in Harlem, New York during the early 1900s. The repeated image of the unidentified young boy carries a symbolic weight, representing not only the individual but also a broader collective experience. Painted in vibrant shades of blue and black, the boy's direct gaze confronts the viewer while the repeated patterning and overlay of text pushes and pulls the colorful faces between differing levels of visibility.

This exhibition is presented by BRIC and the Prospect Park Alliance.

Nicholas Galanin created this work with the same steel tubing used to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall, also echoing its 30-foot height. The metal was cut and reassembled to spell out LAND in a format reminiscent of Robert Indiana’s 1966 sculpture, LOVE. The anti-climbing plate seen atop the border wall appears here on the upper letters, and the text repeats in four layers to create a dynamic, open structure. As our point of view changes, the text shifts between legibility and abstraction.

This exhibition is presented by Public Art Fund.

This fence-based mural depicts the people, places, and activities that are the heartbeat of the community. Inspiration for this mural comes from the youth in Brownsville who wanted to see a piece of art that reflects the things they love to see in their community. They mentioned how seeing elderly people motivated them, their love for activities like skelly, and identified areas of the community that brought back childhood memories. All of this is captured within layers of the artwork.

The Beat of Brownsville was designed in collaboration with Brownsville Community Justice Center’s Youth Leadership Council (YLC), a group of youth leaders from ten different NYCHA developments who organize to improve neighborhood safety.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Brownsville Community Justice Center.