It remains to be seen whether or not President Donald Trump will be able to realize his $34 million statue garden, with a proposed 250 pieces of public art. But what was clear this past Thursday was that organizations, such as the Socrates Sculpture Park, are fiercely committed to protecting and advancing public art.
The organization, which hosted its annual gala at Mark Di Suvero’s waterfront studio in Long Island City, Queens kicked the festivities off with rousing remarks by Laurie Cumbo, the city’s commissioner of cultural affairs. “In these very challenging times there are countries all over the world at war because they don’t believe that the diversity that is in this room should exist…But you cannot stop evolution,” she said before continuing by stressing the importance of artists and public art spaces such as Socrates to helping address today’s societal ills.
To that end, Socrates announced at the gala their brand new initiative, The Point. The project–a revitalization of a waterfront area formerly used for storage and maintenance–will expand the park’s footprint and present a new slate of public art initiatives. Katie Dixon, co-director at Socrates, shared insight into the project noting, “In 2026, The Point will open to the public for the first time and will be a new civic and artistic space grounded in ecological resilience, belonging, and public memory. It will feature longterm artist commissions beginning with never before exhibited works by Mark Di Suvero that have been created onsite. We’ll also be drawing on our forty-year archive and introducing opportunities for local engagement and education as part of the project.”
It was also revealed that a mere few hours before the gala, the Henry Luce Foundation provided a $300K grant for the project. With the excitement from that news in the air, we asked attendees to reflect on the importance of public art and below is what they shared.
Alison Saar, artist and gala honoree
“Public art means a space where folks can come and experience something that is not the same as seeing art in a museum. It’s art they can touch. It’s art they can surround themselves with. It’s art they can sit down with and gather with. I really love that public art–and speaking of [my] Harriet Tubman [memorial] specifically–it’s become a destination where people come and meet for marches or meet other friends to go out for lunch or whatever. So I think it’s great that it’s also a destination.”
Shaun Leonardo, co-director, Socrates Sculpture Park
“I first discovered Socrates as a young man right out of grad school when I helped a friend install a work at the park. And there is a special magic you start to witness with the idea of the demystification of art, as it’s being produced in public but also with public input. And the very idea that the artist can work in the community makes the experience of art so much more special because there is a closeness, there is an understanding, a knowing that is unlike anywhere you experience art.”
Dread Scott, artist
“Public art means that the work is for the public and it has to address some of the biggest questions confronting humanity. One of the great things about Socrates is that it is a public park where ordinary people come to. When I did a project here back in 1999 it was addressing the lynching that happened to James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. It had to withstand people coming to walk their dogs. They weren’t actually coming to think about that, but they loved it once they engaged with it.”
Chakaia Booker, artist
“It [public art] means everything. It’s all about life in absolutely every facet known universally…And I am very thankful for that.”
The column, On the “A” w/Souleo, covers the arts, culture, entertainment, party, and philanthropy scene in Harlem and beyond and is written by Souleo.
