Marcus Garvey Park w/view of the Acropolis & historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in the background, the current art installation by Art Lives Here on the great lawn, artist Reuben Sinha: Breathing. Madison Ave side near 123rd Street.
Sitting in on the recent CB 11 meeting, Jana La Sorte, the Administrator of Historic Harlem Parks, gave an update on a plethora of good news happening in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.
The Park, which runs from 120th Street to 124th Street, and from Madison Avenue to Mount Morris Park West, is the home to the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower, the Harlem Drummers, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, a swimming pool, and from what we heard in this meeting, it may be the new home of Harlem Eat Up!
Marcus Garvey Park w/view of the Acropolis & historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in the background, the current art installation by Art Lives Here on the great lawn, artist Reuben Sinha: Breathing. Madison Ave side near 123rd Street. October 2022.
If you take Fifth Avenue Uptown, You will have a pleasant pause at 120th Street, where you will be greeted by an entrance to Marcus Garvey Park ~ Harlem to the West and East Harlem to the East. The Park spans from 120th Street to 124th Street, and from Mt. Morris Park West to Madison Avenue.
The artist Reuben Sinha with his sculpture, Breathing Without Fear’ in Marcus Garvey Park
Heads-up for all who love watching the installation of outdoor art sculptures ~ on the heals of the deinstallation of ‘Thomas J. Price: Witness,’ last week, Breathing Without Fear by Art Lives Here artist-member Reuben Sinha will be installed on Sunday, October 16th from 1:00 ~ 4:00pm as a celebration of public art in Marcus Garvey Park. The new temporary sculpture will be located on the east-side oval lawn at Madison Avenue and 123rd Street in East Harlem.
Marcus Garvey Park has a plethora of art over this past few months, with the installation of Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountainand Thomas J. Price: Witness, added to the park’s weekly music and dance. Now, we look forward to the unveiling of Alice Mizrachi: Renaissance Women, an abstract, figurative sculpture that honors women of the Harlem Renaissance ~ paving the way for many of the artists today, including Mizrachi.
Save the dates because it’s only a two-day event ~ Thursday, August 12th at Bryant Park and Friday, August 13th at Marcus Garvey Park, and it’s the culmination of Harlem Stage’s Afrofuturism series that launched in 2019 as a citywide, multi-venue held at Harlem Stage, Park Avenue Armory, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrating Sun Ra’s legacy.
Taking a closer look. Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountain in Marcus Garvey Park
Harlem-based non-profit the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, Public art organizer Connie Lee and Harlem-based artist Susan Stair are pleased to announce the installation of Ascending the Mountain, a public artworkin Marcus Garvey Park. Installed in three distinct sections along the staircase that leads up to the overlook terraces known as the Acropolis and the Harlem Fire Watchtower. The artwork is exhibited as part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and is one of six temporary public art installations organized by the public art committee in Harlem this Summer.
Join the artist, Susan Stair, for a guided tour of her public art installation on Saturday, June 4th (rain date June 5th) and Saturday, June 11th (rain date June 12th) from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Use the 121st St & Madison Ave entrance to Marcus Garvey Park, at the base of the stairs near the basketball courts. Workshops and tree-inspired activities on each day.
illustrated by Lyne Lucien. Image via cityparksfoundation.org
The Capital One City Park’s Foundation Summerstage 2021 kicked off its season in Central Park with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on June 17th, followed by a pre-screening of the documentary Summer of Soulin Marcus Garvey Park on June 19th.
Check out this years SummerStage Season Brochure, ~ a bit pared-down, but with concerts, film screenings and performances in four parks including Ramsey Playfield Central Park, Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, and the Coney Island Amphitheater along the boardwalk. Check out a fabulous lineup.
*Update ~ Due to the increasing spread of the Delta variant and rise in cases in New York City, SummerStage will be requiring proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for entry to all performances at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. We are also requiring masks upon entry, and recommend that guests wear them for the duration of the performance. Most performances will be available via livestream at summerstageanywhere.org for those unable to attend in person. For more information, please visit summerstage.org and go to our SummerStage Experience page.
Save the Dates! The New York Philharmonic’s NYPhilBandwagon2 will be popping up in Marcus Garvey Park, East Harlem from May 14-16. Three days of concerts in the park along Madison Avenue from 123rd to 124th Streets. This event is part of a series of four weekend-long festivals across New York City in May.
‘Summer of Soul’ image released by Sundance; Sly Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) Mt Morris Park, Harlem
Where were you in 1969? If you were in Harlem, chances are you were either in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) or heard about the Harlem Cultural Festival ~ a summer of free outdoor concerts held on Sunday.
With the unveiling of the recently restored Harlem Fire Watchtower, and renovation of the Acropolis on which it sits, we take a look back at a Marcus Garvey Park art installation in 2015, Caesura: a forum ~ a large-scale architectural and sound installation we frequented, but find our original post unretrievable ~ and worth a re-post.
On a sunny Saturday ~ during Memorial Day Weekend ~ we spied a small army of weeders, rackers, mulchers, and general cleaner-upers, hard at work along the Madison Avenue side of Marcus Garvey Park in East Harlem. They were New York Road Runner volunteers who regularly give of their time and energy. Follow along as we walk (not run) along the Park to take a closer look at what they’re doing.
NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks ~ Creative Courts initiative, Facebook Artist-in-Residence Program (FB AIR Program), along with artist Saya Woolfalk, the non-profit Publicolor, and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance/Public Art Initiative have arrived at the basketball court on Madison Avenue near 122nd Street in Marcus Garvey Park. Watch as this work-in-progress takes shape over this next week.
If you happen to be in Marcus Garvey Park on a Saturday afternoon, you might hear the sounds of drums coming from the Madison Avenue side of the Park, between 123rd-124th Streets.
Connie Lee, President of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance/ Public Art Initiative, and Commissioner Mitchel Silver on a walk-through of Marcus Garvey Park
Mitchell J. Silver, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, along with William T. Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, NYC Parks Department, met with Connie Lee, President of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, several members of her Board, and Friends of Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, for a tour of Marcus Garvey Park in East Harlem today.
Image taken October 18, 2019, courtesy of a reader
A pop-up visit by Urban Park Rangers visiting the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower prior to resuming tours. Image courtesy Connie Lee, President, Marcus Garvey Park Alliance; Director, Public Art Initiative; Curator, Living With Art Salon, spending some time with the Urban Park Rangers today.
Harlemites and preservationists were delighted to receive the recent news that the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower, removed from the Acropolis overlooking Marcus Garvey Park in 2015 for restoration, would have its unveiling and ribbon-cutting on October 26, 2019. Prior to COVID-19, the Urban Park Rangers opened the gate and escorted the public up to the top of the Watchtower, giving the public a bit of history and a spectacular view.
Atlas: The Third Millennium 2016-1017 by Artist, Jorge Luis Rodriguez in Marcus Garvey Park
With the temperature dipping to the mid-thirties, Atlas of the Third Millennium, along with its creator, the artist, Jorge Luis Rodriguez, arrived for the installation in Marcus Garvey Park this past November.
