Socrates Sculpture Park

Public park in Queens, New York

Socrates Sculpture Park

Entrance to Socrates Sculpture Park in October 2008

Location within New York City

Established| 1986
Location| 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106
Coordinates| 40°46′06″N 73°56′12″W﻿ / ﻿40.768347°N 73.936545°W﻿ / 40.768347; -73.936545
Visitors| 89,000 (annual)
Public transit access| New York City Subway:
Broadway ​
MTA Bus:
Q104
Website| www.socratessculpturepark.org

Socrates Sculpture Park is an outdoor museum and public park where artists can create and exhibit sculptures and multi-media installations. It is located one block from the Noguchi Museum at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in the neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, New York City. In addition to exhibition space, the park offers an arts education program, artist residency program, and job training.

## History and description

[edit]

Socrates Sculpture Park is located atop the mouth of the buried Sunswick Creek.[1]: 97  In 1986, American sculptor Mark di Suvero created Socrates Sculpture Park on an abandoned landfill and illegal dumpsite in Long Island City. The four-acre (1.6 ha) site is the largest outdoor space in New York City dedicated to exhibiting sculpture. The former landfill was renovated into the current park by a team of contemporary artists and local youths.[2] The park operated for 14 years with only a temporary city park status. In 1998, the park was given official status by then New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani as a permanent city park after a developer attempted to erect luxury apartments and a marina on the site after the park's lease had expired.[3]

In 2005, the park was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.[4][5]

Socrates Sculpture Park Broadway Billboard 2012

At the Socrates Sculpture Park's main entrance hangs a 10-by-28-foot (3.0 by 8.5 m) billboard structure that has been an ongoing installation since 1999. The original billboard was a mirror image of the street created by artist Mathieu Borysevicz[6] built by ongoing volunteer Ross H. Radtke, a mechanical engineer and neighbour.

New billboards are installed once or twice per year. Artists work with printmaking and photography to create an image that greets visitors as they enter the park and sets the tone for the current show. The billboards are in conjunction with each spring exhibition.[7] The park has numerous workshops and public programming. Many artists lead tour programs of current exhibitions, there are summer art projects, and various free public events, such as yoga and capoeira on Saturdays and outdoor movie screenings on Wednesdays that begin in mid-July and end in mid-August.[8] GrowNYC runs an Astoria Farmer's Market in the park every Saturday during the summer months.[9]

In January 2019, the Park announced its plan to construct and install permanent staff offices made out of shipping containers. This would be the park's first permanent on-site structure.[10]

## Artists who have exhibited at Socrates Sculpture Park

[edit]

Socrates Sculpture Park offers emerging and established artists an opportunity to make a temporary or permanent public sculpture in a New York City park.[11] In 2018, Virginia Overton became the first female artist to have a solo exhibition at the Socrates Sculpture Park.[12] Other artists who have shown work at Socrates Sculpture Park include:

* Vito Acconci 1986
* Maren Hassinger 1988, 2022[13]
* Merle Temkin 1991
* Sanford Biggers 2001
* Agnes Denes 2015
* Virginia Overton 2018
* Guadalupe Maravilla 2021[14]
* Mary Mattingly 2023[15]

## Governance

[edit]

The current executive director of the park is John Hatfield, former deputy director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art.[16] Some former executive directors of the park include Alyson Baker (2000–2011),[17] Kathleen Gilrain (1995–2000),[18] and Eve Sussman (1993- ).[19]

### Board of directors [20]

[edit]

* Mark di Suvero, chair emeritus
* Stuart Match Suna, president
* Robert F. Goldrich, vice president
* Ivana Mestrovic, secretary and treasurer
* Joel Shapiro
* Maxine Frankel
* Richard Gluckman, FAIA
* Hugh Hardy, FAIA
* Brooke Kamin Rapaport
* Ursula von Rydingsvard
* Deidrea Miller
* Shaun Leonardo
* Alison Saar
* Kimberly Strong
* Martin Silver, Ex Officio

## See also

[edit]

* Landfill in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. pp. 96–98\. ISBN 978-1-58157-566-8.
2. ^ McGill, Douglas C. (August 27, 1986). "A Sculpture Park Grows in Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
3. ^ Martin, Douglas (December 6, 1998). "Queens Sculpture Garden Is Made a Permanent Park". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
4. ^ Roberts, Sam (July 6, 2005). "City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
5. ^ "Carnegie Corporation of New York Announces Twenty Million Dollars in New York City Grants" (Press release). Carnegie Corporation of New York. July 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008.
6. ^ "Broadway Billboard: Mathieu Borysevicz". Socrates Sculpture Park. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
7. ^ ""Broadway Billboard". Socrates Sculpture Park. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
8. ^ "Lonely Planet Socrates Sculpture Park". Lonely Planet. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
9. ^ Killeen, Jared (June 2, 2011). "Green Market at Socrates Sculpture Park". Boro Magazine. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
10. ^ Sackman, Meghan (January 16, 2019). "Plans for Staff Offices at Socrates Sculpture Park, Made of Shipping Containers, Move Forward". Astoria Post. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
11. ^ "Exhibitions". Socrates Sculpture Park. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
12. ^ Franklin, Sydney (July 11, 2018). "Virginia Overton's site-specific work at Socrates Sculpture Park rethinks raw construction materials". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
13. ^ "Maren Hassinger". Socrates Sculpture Park. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
14. ^ "Planeta Abuelx". Socrates Sculpture Park. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
15. ^ "Ebb of a Spring Tide". Socrates Sculpture Park. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
16. ^ "Socrates Sculpture Park appoints New Museum's John Hatfield as new Director". artdaily.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
17. ^ "Alyson Baker named ninth Director". e-flux. May 1, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
18. ^ "Smack Mellon Staff". Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
19. ^ Kimmelman, Michael (August 6, 1993). "Outdoor Sculpture in Review". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
20. ^ "Board". Retrieved July 11, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Socrates Sculpture Park.

* Official website
* Illustrated article on Socrates Sculpture Park[usurped]

* v
* t
* e

Public art in Queens

Works|

* Civic Virtue†
* Unisphere
* Rocket Thrower
* Vietnam Veterans Memorial

| Portrait statues|

* Christopher Columbus
* Tom Seaver

|

Related|

* Socrates Sculpture Park

Key: † No longer extant or on public display

* v
* t
* e

Astoria

Queens, New York City

Parks|

* Astoria Park
* Socrates Sculpture Park

Education|

* Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
* Saint Demetrios Astoria School
* St. John's Preparatory School

Culture and religion|

* Astoria Center of Israel
* First Reformed Church of Astoria
* Greater Astoria Historical Society
* Kaufman Astoria Studios
* Modern Art Foundry
* Museum of the Moving Image
* Noguchi Museum
* Trinity Lutheran Church

Other buildings|

* Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society
* Norwood Gardens
* Sohmer and Company Piano Factory
* Steinway Mansion
* Stevens House

Transportation|

| Subway stations|

* 30th Avenue
* 36th Avenue
* 46th Street
* Astoria Boulevard
* Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard
* Broadway
* Steinway Street

|

Roads and streets|

* Astoria Boulevard
* Steinway Street

Geographical features|

* Berrien's Island
* Bowery Bay
* Sunswick Creek

See also: Queens Community Board 1

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of New York City

Federal

| National Historic Sites|

* Lower East Side Tenement Museum
* Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

|

National monuments
and memorials|

* African Burial Ground
* Castle Clinton
* Federal Hall
* General Grant
* Governors Island
* Hamilton Grange
* Statue of Liberty
* Stonewall

National recreation areas|

* Gateway National Recreation Area - Jamaica Bay
* Floyd Bennett Field
* Fort Tilden
* Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
* Jacob Riis
* Gateway National Recreation Area - Staten Island
* Fort Wadsworth
* Great Kills
* Hoffman Island
* Miller Field
* Swinburne Island

State

| State Parks|

* Bayswater Point
* Clay Pit Ponds
* Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms
* Gantry Plaza
* Marsha P. Johnson
* Riverbank
* Roberto Clemente
* Shirley Chisholm

|

State recreation lands|

* Mount Loretto Unique Area
* Udalls Cove

City parks and preserves

| Manhattan|

* 79th Street Boat Basin
* Abe Lebewohl Park
* Abingdon Square
* Albert Capsouto
* Asphalt Green
* Asser Levy
* Battery
* Bella Abzug (Hudson)
* Bellevue South
* Bennett
* British Garden at Hanover Square
* Bowling Green
* Bryant
* Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk
* Carl Schurz
* Central
* Diana Ross Playground
* Great Lawn Rec Center
* Heckscher Playground
* North Meadow Rec Center
* Tarr Family Playground
* Chelsea
* City Hall
* Coleman Playground
* Collect
* Columbus
* Corlears Hook
* Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* Damrosch
* Dante
* DeSalvio Playground
* DeWitt Clinton
* Drumgoole Plaza
* Duane
* East River Greenway
* East River Esplanade
* East River
* Pier 42
* Stuyvesant Cove
* Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza
* Father Demo Square
* Finn Square
* Foley Square
* Fort Tryon
* Fort Washington
* Gorman
* Governors Island
* Gramercy
* Greenacre
* Hamilton Fish
* Hanover Square
* Harlem River
* Hell's Kitchen
* Herald Square
* High Line
* Highbridge
* Fort George Seating Area
* Holcombe Rucker
* Hudson River
* Ilka Tanya Payán
* Imagination Playground
* Inwood Hill
* Isham
* J. Hood Wright
* Jackie Robinson
* Jackson Square
* John Jay
* Liberty
* Little Island
* Louis Cuvillier
* Madison Square
* Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
* MacArthur
* Marcus Garvey
* McKenna Square
* Millennium
* Mill Rock
* Mitchell Square
* Montefiore Square
* Morningside
* Murphy's Brother's Playground
* Muscota Marsh
* Open Road
* Paley
* Peretz Square
* Peter Cooper
* Peter Detmold
* Plaza Lafayette
* Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden
* Ralph Bunche
* Randalls Island
* Richard Tucker Square
* Riverside
* Robert Moses Playground
* Roosevelt Triangle
* Rucker
* Sakura
* Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground
* Sara Delano Roosevelt
* Septuagesimo Uno
* Seward
* Sheridan Square
* Sherman Square
* Spring Street
* St. John's
* St. Nicholas
* St. Vartan
* Straus
* Stuyvesant Square
* Swindler Cove
* Teardrop
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Thomas Jefferson
* Thomas Paine
* Tompkins Square
* Tribeca
* Trygve Lie
* Union Square
* Verdi Square
* Vesuvio Playground
* Vietnam Veterans Plaza
* Vincent F. Albano Jr.
* Wagner
* Wards Island
* Washington Market
* Washington Square
* West Side Community Garden
* William A. Harris Garden
* Winston Churchill Square
* Zuccotti

|

The Bronx|

| East Bronx|

* Bicentennial Veterans
* Castle Hill
* City Island Wetlands
* Ferry Point
* Givans Creek Woods
* Haffen
* Harding
* Hart Island
* Magenta Playground
* Pelham Bay
* Hunter Island
* Orchard Beach
* Rodman's Neck
* Pelham Parkway
* Pugsley Creek
* Richman
* Seton Falls
* Seton
* Soundview
* Starlight

|

West Bronx|

* Aqueduct Walk
* Bridge
* Bronx
* Bronx Skate Park
* Devoe
* Ewen
* Harris
* Henry Hudson
* Jerome
* Mosholu Parkway
* Poe
* Raoul Wallenberg Forest
* Riverdale
* Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront
* St. James
* University Woods
* Van Cortlandt
* Vidalia
* Vinmont Veteran
* Washington's Walk
* Williamsbridge Oval

South Bronx|

* Baretto Point
* Bill Rainey
* Carlos J. Lozada Playground
* Claremont
* Concrete Plant
* Crotona
* Estella Diggs
* Grant
* Hunts Point Riverside
* Joseph Rodman Drake
* Joyce Kilmer
* Julius Richman
* Macombs Dam
* Mill Pond
* Mullaly
* North and South Brother Islands
* Playground 52
* Printer's
* Richman
* St. Mary's
* Taqwa Community Farm
* Tremont

Brooklyn|

* Alben Square
* American Veterans Memorial Pier
* Amersfort
* Anthony Catanzaro Square
* Asser Levy
* Ascenzi Square
* Bath Beach
* Betsy Head
* Bensonhurst
* Bocchino-Dente Memorial Plaza
* Breukelen Ballfields
* Brooklyn Bridge
* Brooklyn Heights Promenade
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
* Brower
* Bushwick
* Byrne
* Cadman Plaza
* Canarsie
* Carroll
* Calvert Vaux
* Chief Charles A. Joshua Plaza
* City Line
* Coffey
* Columbus
* Commodore Barry
* Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk
* Coney Island Creek
* Coney Island Cyclone
* Continental Army Plaza
* Cooper
* Domino
* Dyker Beach
* Eastern Parkway
* Fort Greene
* Four Sparrow Marsh
* Frank M. Charles
* Fresh Creek Nature Preserve
* Friends Field
* Fulton
* Golconda Skate Park
* Gravesend
* Green Central Knoll
* Herbert Von King
* Highland
* Irving Square
* JJ Byrne
* Jamaica Bay
* John J. Carty
* John Paul Jones
* Kaiser
* Kelly
* Leif Ericson
* Leon S. Kaiser Playground
* Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino
* Lincoln Terrace
* Linden
* Lindower
* Linton
* Macri Triangle
* Manhattan Beach
* Maria Hernandez
* Marine
* McCarren
* McGolrick
* McKinley
* Mt. Prospect
* Nellie Bly
* Ocean Parkway
* Owl's Head
* Paerdegat Basin
* Paerdegat
* Prospect
* Red Hook
* Robert E. Venable
* Russell D. Ramsey Triangle
* Saratoga
* Scarangella
* Seaside
* Seth Low
* Shore
* Spring Creek
* Steeplechase
* Sternberg
* St. Johns
* Sunset
* Tompkins
* Trinity
* Van Voorhees
* Walt Whitman
* Wingate
* WNYC Transmitter
* Zion Triangle

Queens|

* Admiral
* Alley Pond
* Andrews Grove
* Astoria
* Baisley Pond
* Bayside Fields
* Bayswater
* Beach Channel
* Big Bush
* Bowne
* Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Breininger
* Broad Channel American
* Broad Channel
* Broad Channel Wetlands
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brookville
* Bulova
* Captain Tilly
* Catholic War Veterans Triangle
* Chris Postiglione Triangle
* College Point Fields
* Crocheron
* Cunningham
* Det. Keith L. Williams
* Det. William T. Gunn
* Dr. Charles R. Drew
* Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Doughboy
* Douglaston
* Elmhurst
* Evergreen
* Far Rockaway Skate Park
* Feehan Triangle
* Flushing Fields
* Flushing Meadows-Corona
* Foch Sitting Area
* Forest
* Fort Tilden
* Fort Totten
* Francis Lewis
* Frank Golden
* Frank Principe
* Haggerty
* Harvey
* Highland
* Hillcrest Veterans Square
* Hinton
* Hoffman
* Hook Creek
* Hunter's Point
* Idlewild
* Jamaica Bay
* Joe Sabba
* John Golden
* Judge Moses Weinstein Playground
* Juniper Valley
* Kissena
* Kohlreiter Square
* Kopytko Triangle
* Libra Triangle
* Linden
* Linnaeus
* Little Bay
* LoCicero Triangle
* Louis Pasteur
* Lynch Triangle
* Mafera
* Macneil
* Marconi
* Marie Curie
* Montbellier
* O'Donohue
* One Room Schoolhouse
* Overlook
* Park of the Americas
* Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto
* Playground Seventy Five
* Ofc. Edward Byrne
* Powell's Cove
* Proctor-Hopson Circle
* Queens County Farm Museum
* Queensbridge
* Rachel Carson
* Railroad
* Ralph Demarco
* Remsen Cemetery
* Rochdale
* Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
* Rockaway Community
* Roy Wilkins
* Rufus King
* Seagirt Avenue Wetlands
* Socrates Sculpture
* Spring Creek
* Springfield
* St. Albans
* Travers
* Travis Triangle
* Triangle 54
* Tribute
* Tudor
* Turtle Playground
* Underbridge Dog Run
* Vleigh Playground
* Walter J. Wetzel Triangle
* Wayanda

Staten Island|

| North Shore
(Community District 1)|

* Allison Pond
* Austen House
* Buono Beach
* Barrett
* Clove Lakes
* Clove's Tail
* Corporal Thompson
* Eibs Pond
* Faber
* Forest Grove
* Fort Hill
* Gaeta
* Graniteville Quarry
* Graniteville Swamp
* Hero
* Ingram Woods
* Jones Woods
* Joseph Manna
* Lyons Pool Recreation Center
* Maple Woods
* Northerleigh
* Richmond Terrace Wetlands
* Sailors' Snug Harbor
* Shooters Island
* Silver Lake
* Sobel Court
* Tappen
* Tompkinsville
* Von Briesen
* Walker
* Westerleigh

|

Mid-Island
(Community District 2)|

* Blood Root Valley
* Bradys Pond
* Deere
* Father Macris
* FDR Boardwalk
* Gen. MacArthur
* High Rock
* Last Chance
* Midland Field
* Ocean Breeze
* Old Place Creek
* Prall's Island
* Saw Mill Creek Marsh
* Schmul
* South Beach Wetlands
* St. George
* Staten Island Industrial
* Westwood
* Willowbrook

Mid-Island & South Shore
(Community Districts 2 & 3)|

* Freshkills
* LaTourette
* Meredith Woods
* William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge

South Shore
(Community District 3)|

* Aesop
* Amundsen Circle
* Annadale
* Arbutus Woods
* Arden Woods
* Bayview Terrace
* Bloomingdale
* Blue Heron
* Blueberry
* Bunker Ponds
* Carlton
* Conference House
* Crescent Beach
* Fairview
* Great Kills
* Huguenot Ponds
* Hybrid Oak Woods
* Isle of Meadows
* King Fisher
* Kingdom Pond
* Lemon Creek
* Long Pond
* Olmstead-Beil House
* Reed's Basket Willow Swamp
* Seaside Wildlife Nature
* Siedenburg
* Tottenville Shore
* Wegener
* Wolfe's Pond

Other

| Nature centers|

* Alley Pond
* Belvedere Castle
* Blue Heron
* Crotona
* Dana Discovery Center
* Forest
* Fort Greene
* Fort Totten
* Greenbelt
* High Rock
* Inwood Hill
* Orchard Beach
* Prospect
* Salt Marsh
* Van Cortlandt

|

Zoos|

* Bronx
* Central Park
* Prospect Park
* Queens
* Staten Island

Botanical gardens|

* Brooklyn Botanic
* Conservatory
* New York Botanical
* Queens Botanical
* Staten Island Botanical
* New York Chinese Scholar's
* Wave Hill

Roosevelt Island|

* Lighthouse
* Southpoint

Other lists|

* World War I-related parks
* Vietnam War-related parks
* Hispanic and Latino-related parks

* Category
* Department of Parks and Recreation
* New York State
* Commons

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template