Socrates Sculpture Park

John Hatfield, Executive Director of Socrates Sculpture Park since 2012, has announced his plans to step down after nine years leading the outdoor sculpture park. His departure will occur when a successor is chosen. A transition committee has been appointed by the Board to conduct this important search and expects a new Executive Director to begin by mid-2021. Hatfield’s tenure at Socrates has been marked by the celebration the Park’s 30th Anniversary; the initiation of important commissions in the Park by acclaimed artists such as Agnes Denes and Nari Ward; a significantly expanded digital presence and publication program; dramatic improvements to the facilities; and greatly enhanced social and education programming all of which has made Socrates a cultural anchor to the Queens community and a nationally renowned public art venue.

Film makers RAVA (Ava Wiland & Rafael Salazar) produced this delightful documentary short about artist Paul Ramírez Jonas' monument installation, 'Eternal Flame' which functions as a communal barbecue! In the film, five Queens-based chefs cook delicious recipes from around the world on the 'Eternal Flame' grills while sharing their thoughts on how cuisine is a valuable form of heritage and cultural expression. Watch now:

"'Monuments Now' suggests possible answers to a question that haunts our public landscape: As stone and metal renderings of imperious men that once seemed permanently affixed to the ground have vanished, what should take their place?" writes Jillian Steinhauer for the The New York Times about the Park's current exhibition. Read the full review now!

Calling all NYC High Schoolers: We're currently accepting applications for our Socrateens program! Socrateens is a year-long experimental art-making program for teens. Participants are each paid a monthly artist stipend of $100. It's super easy to apply, just email Socrates Lead Educator Douglas Paulson at [email protected] and ask for instructions!

Socrates Curator Jess Wilcox speaks with artist Xaviera Simmons about Simmons’ installation, 'The structure the labor the foundation the escape the pause,' for the 'MONUMENTS NOW' exhibition.

Join us today at 5pm for a conversation with artist Xaviera Simmons and Socrates Curator Jess Wilcox about Simmons' powerful installation 'The structure the labor the foundation the escape the pause.' You can watch right here on our Facebook page! Or on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/99655273626

We’re looking forward to this next activation of Jeffrey Gibson’s VIA-supported project ‘Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House’ at Socrates Sculp...ture Park . Emily Johnson’s site-specific dance work, 'The Ways We Love and The Ways We Love Better Monumental Movement Toward Being Future Being(s)', will stage pathways for regeneration, renewal and transformation. . #Repost @jeffrune: Emily Johnson! @emilyjohnsoncatalyst performing next week on September 16 @socratespark More details will be posted shortly. Don’t miss the live stream. Thanks to @sikkemajenkins @robertsprojects @kavigupta_ @viaartfund #viagrantees #becauseonceyouentermyhouseitbecomesourhouse #jeffreygibson #socratessculpturepark #monumentsnow

Due to rain forecasted for this evening, artist Xaviera Simmons' virtual conversation with Socrates Curator Jess Wilcox has been rescheduled for tomorrow at 5pm EST!

Join #LMCCAlumni Sarah Cameron Sunde tomorrow Saturday, 9/5, for a livestream of 36.5/ A Durational Performance with the Sea. 36.5 / A Durational Performance wi...th the Sea is a series of performance works and video works created by Sarah Cameron Sunde that engage people on personal, local, and global scales in conversations around deep time and sea-level rise. It began with a poetic gesture standing in water for 12 hours and 48 minutes while the tide rose and fell on her body and has grown into a complex, collaborative, evolving series of works spanning seven years and six continents. By executing these works in seas around the world in both a live form and video form, we hope that each individual that encounters the project will consider our contemporary relationship to water, as individuals, in community, and as a civilization. Each work in the series consists of a live performance event, a time-lapse video, and a long-form cinematic video work from a different coastal location. For each: I travel to a location threatened by sea-level rise to stand in a tidal area for a full tidal cycle, usually 12-13 hours; water engulfs my body and then recedes again. The tide tracks time on my body viscerally, and functions as a metaphor for the changing environment. The water is my collaborator and the risks are real. I stay present in the sensations, attempt to embody the ocean and find a way to endure the struggle. The public is invited to stand in the water with me for however long they like and to participate in performing a series of physical gestures from the shore, creating a human clock that communicates to me each hour that passes. (Sunde) 36.5/ A Durational Performance with the Sea was created in partnership with Socrates Sculpture Park, Works on Water, NYU Gallatin Galleries, and LMCC. To tune in and learn more, visit https://www.36pt5.org/.

American Indigenous contemporary dancer Emily Johnson is presenting a new original work at the Park on Wednesday, September 16th at 6:30pm EST broadcast live to the public via Zoom and Facebook! She is currently casting dancers for the piece learn more and apply on our website (linked below). The performance is part of a series curated by artist Jeffrey Gibson to activate his monument project at Socrates, 'Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House' a massive technicolor ziggurat honoring queer and Indigenous peoples.