Downtown Alliance Releases Re:Construction: A Book Celebrating Public Art Program that Transforms Construction Barriers into Temporary Art Installations
The Alliance for Downtown New York unveiled Re:Construction, a book of images that celebrates and chronicles a six-year public art initiative to transform often unsightly construction barriers into public canvases for artists to create contextual works on a large scale. Released at a launch party at Silverstein Properties’ 7 World Trade Center, the book features photographs of every project and testimonials from artists, elected officials, city commissioners, project consultants as well as business, community and cultural leaders. To view pictures from the event, visit: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjKd5n7s.
“Amid the hustle and bustle of fast-changing Lower Manhattan, the Re:Construction program has made our sidewalks more user-friendly, our streetscape more scenic and has integrated thought-provoking art into the pedestrian experience,” said Robert R. Douglass, Chairman of the Downtown Alliance. “Thank you to all of the property owners, construction firms, artists and consultants for coming to together to make Lower Manhattan a more colorful and more dynamic place over these last 12 years of post-9/11 construction.”
In the book, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says “Lower Manhattan’s ongoing rebirth as a vibrant 24/7 community can be seen not only in the growth of its residents, companies, and visitors, but also in the amount of new construction that continues to reshape the area. The Downtown Alliance’s Re:Construction initiative turns construction sites into artistic canvases, integrating works of art into our streetscapes in ways that reflect the cultural dynamism of the community.”
In collaboration with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), the Downtown Alliance piloted Re:Construction in 2007. After launching four installations near Broadway and West Streets, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) went on to award the Downtown Alliance a $1.5 million Community Enhancement Fund grant from the U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development to expand the initiative. To date, Re:Construction, which others have emulated locally, nationally, and globally, has produced 35 public art and wayfinding projects from the tip of Manhattan up to Houston Street. Currently, seven Re:Construction projects are up for viewing.
Click here to view the book.
Re:Construction was the vision of the Downtown Alliance’s late president Elizabeth H. Berger, who passed away in August 2013. The Re:Construction projects include:
1. 24 John Street: Drift
2. 50 Trinity Place: Poster Project at 50 Trinity
3. 50 Trinity, 180 Broadway, Broadway at Dey Street and 26 Federal Plaza: Wayfinding*
4. 50 West Street: Life, Actually*
5. 55 Liberty Street: Monk Parakeets with Mourning Doves and Red Wings
6. 56 Leonard Street: Rendering Leonard
7. 99 Church Street: Walking Men 99*
8. 99 Washington Street: Flying Animals*
9. 100 Broadway: Urban Umbrella
10. 180 Broadway: Mirage Canyon
11. AIG, 175 Water Street: Green Gate, Summer
12. Broadway and John Street: Corbin Building Architectural Rendering
13. Canal and Varick Streets, LentSpace: half awake, half asleep
14. Chambers Street: Secret Gardens
15. Chase Plaza: Around the Corner*
16. East River Waterfront Esplanade, South Street: Fence Embroidery with Embellishment
17. Fiterman Hall: Restore the View
18. Fulton Street reconstruction site, between Broadway and Nassau: Fulton Fence
19. Fulton Center, Broadway between Ann and John streets: Concrete Jungle
20. Fulton Street Transit Center, John Street at Broadway: Best Pedestrian Route
21. Goldman Sachs headquarters, 200 West Street: Untitled
22. Grand and Lafayette streets: Downtown Dogs
23. Hubert Street between Washington and Hudson Street: Aquatic Dream
24. Hudson River Park: Botanizing on the Asphalt
25. Hudson Street between Franklin Street and Ericsson Place: Star Sun Burst
26. Liberty and Church Streets: Men at Work
27. Louise Nevelson Plaza, Maiden Lane and William Street: Rainbow Conversation
28. MTA Battery Parking Garage: WardWalk*
29. Nassau and Fulton Streets: Sour Gum Tree: Seasonal Glory
30. Nassau and Fulton Streets: The Greatest City on Earth
31. Street reconstruction site at Houston and Broadway: Houston Fence
32. Titanic Park, Fulton and Pearl streets: Water Movements
33. W Hotel New York – Downtown: Hours of the Day
34. Warren Street: Walks of Life*
35. West Thames Park, Battery Park City: It Takes Time to Turn a Space Around
* Currently up for viewing