BoroMag_0417_p18

BM042017

Socrates Sculpture Park is not your average neighborhood playground. It’s a museum, movie theater, event space and, yes, a park, all rolled into one. This 5-acre space, located on the banks of the East River at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, just celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. 2017 marks the start of the park’s next 30 years. It’s come so far from where it started, and there are still big plans for its future. 18 APRI L 2 0 1 7 EXPLORE YOUR BORO SCULPTING SUCCESS By ESTELLE PYPER @ESTIEPYPER @ESTIE_PYPER Looking at it now, it’s hard to imagine the park as anything less than lush and green, but it certainly didn’t start out that way. “The interesting and wonderful thing about that park is that was started as a sculpture park by the people for the people,” said Audrey Dimola, director of public programs at Socrates. Its founder, artist Mark di Suvero, was working in Astoria at the time when he came across this empty, desolate space — essentially a landfill. Dimola, who grew up not too far from the space, described the site before its transformation an “illegal dumpsite.” But di Suvero had a vision to reinvent the neglected area. He gathered a group of artists and people in the community and they started turning the space into a park. It took a lot of landscaping to tame the wild land, but eventually it was named an official New York City park. Since the opening 30 years ago, the landscaping has greatly progressed. They planted plenty of trees and now have a “grove,” which they continually add to. All different kinds of plants thrive, and many gardens were created — the perimeter of the space is now lined with gardens. The park is always adapting to cater to its ever-evolving audience. Although originally created to be a space for public enjoyment and for artists to showcase their work, Socrates hosts numerous events catered toward all age groups — and the best part is that all events are completely free. The park itself is free and open 365 days a year from 9 a.m. to sunset — plenty of time to enjoy its wonders. As event specifics may change, an event calendar lives online, and information is always posted on the front gate. There are always two exhibitions held each year, and no exhibit is permanent. Photos courtesy of Socrates Sculpture Park


BM042017
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