The Garment District Alliance unveiled its annual green oasis ~ Urban Garden ~ along with the 180-foot painted mural, Nymph Pond, created by artist Carla Torres along the Broadway Mall between 37th ~ 38th Streets on July 9th.
Urban Garden is a place where New Yorkers and visitors will be able to experience a green oasis in the middle of Midtown Manhattan this summer.
“Over the past few years, the Garment District Urban Garden has served as a vibrant, welcoming outdoor space for the public to enjoy during the summer in the heart of Midtown Manhattan,” said Barbara A. Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance. “From music and lemonade every Wednesday to the beautiful, serene Nymph Pond mural, this year’s Urban Garden will offer a fantastic experience for all visitors, and we are thrilled to kick off another great summer in the neighborhood.”
Urban Garden will provide additional space for the public to experience an array of summer programming in the Garment District along Broadway through August. The blocks that have been converted into public space are 37th and 38th Streets. The expanded summer plazas program will feature cafe’ tables and chairs, planters, birch trees, turf and more, as well as the new Nymph Pond mural, music and free lemonade every Wednesday presented by the Garment District Alliance.
Carla Torres’ mural was inspired by the Nymph Pond, a small pond in the Galapagos Islands, where she would visit when seeking peace and contemplation. The Nymph Pond mural represents a pond with nymph peeking through the water, featuring shades of purple, blue and green Born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, Torres moved to New York City in 2006 to pursue her passion as an artist and illustrator.
Her work has been exhibited in several galleries locally and internationally, she has won several illustration awards, and you will remember the artist for her mural, The World is Our Oyster ~ one of DOTArt’s largest asphalt art murals located on Thieriot Avenue in the Bronx in 2018.
The installation is part of Garment District Art on the Plaza, a year-round public art program made possible through Arterventions, part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program.
The Garment District Alliance and DOT work closely to coordinate the exhibit and install the pieces, which enhance the public plazas and make them even more welcoming to New Yorkers and visitors alike. The installation is also a component of DOT’s Seasonal Streets ~ temporary transformations of streets into vibrant public space, like last year’s Chen Dongfan: The Song of Dragon and Flowers on Boyers Street in Chinatown.
“A sure sign of summer in NYC is the implementation of DOT’s ‘Seasonal Streets.‘ This summer, Broadway from 37th-38th Streets will transform into a beautiful Urban Garden with eye-catching asphalt murals,” said DOT Assistant Commissioner of Urban Design + Art + Wayfinding, Wendy Feuer. “I am excited for the community to experience the magical feeling of walking on water thanks to artist Carla Torres and the Garment District Alliance’s contribution to the third iteration of Seasonal Streets on Broadway!”
The Garment District is home to thousands of people working in the creative economy, including fine and performing artists, designers, architects, photographers and more than a hundred theaters, galleries, performance spaces and studios.
Urban Garden and Nymph Pond will occupy the Garment District’s pedestrian plazas on Broadway from 37th to 38th Streets through August 31, 2019.