Socrates Sculpture Center
exhibition spaces on two levels. The museum also boasts a
1,500-square-foot, enclosed courtyard for outdoor exhibitions.
As many as 35 volunteers dedicate their time to the center, which
strives to promote creativity through educational workshops,
roundtable discussions and events featuring other genres, such as
film, photography, and live performances.
Inside scoop: The center was founded in 1928 as The Clay Club
in Brooklyn. Over the following years, it changed its name,
moved to a carriage house on West 8th Street in Manhattan and
then relocated to another carriage house on East 69th Street. In
2001, the center purchased a former trolley repair shop at its
present site. The building was then redesigned by Maya Lin, the
landscape artist who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington D.C.
Address: 44-19 Purves Street, Long Island City,
www.sculpture-center.org.
SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
Socrates Sculpture Park is New York City’s only public area
dedicated to giving artists the chance to exhibit large-scale
creations. Huge banners stand beside enormous statues or long,
winding pieces. The park is located at the banks of the East
River, giving the air a slightly salty aspect and fantastic views
of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan’s Upper East Side, including
Gracie Mansion, where the mayor lives.
The center was actually an abandoned landfill that had become
an illegal dumping site. In 1986, a group of artists and local
activists reclaimed it. Today, it hosts outdoor movies, an annual
kite-flying extravaganza, a circus, a bicycle parade, Saturday
workshops, and other activities.
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