Friends of the High Line

Coming soon to High Line Channel—"PROJECT ECOPOLIS!" ?? Ezra Wube presents "PROJECT ECOPOLIS" (2024), a compilation of four short films commissioned by the High Line Network, with support from High Line Art. On Monday, November 18, we'll be welcoming Ezra and his collaborators, Tanya Wood, Gloria I Rivera, Karen Farber, Jordan Remington, and Gabriella Malavé will be present for the High Line Channel premiere and an artist talk! For "PROJECT ECOPOLIS," Wube collaborated with four High Line Network partners – the High Line (New York, NY), Englewood Agro-Eco District (Chicago, IL), Buffalo Bayou Partnership (Houston, TX), and Friends of Waterfront Park (Seattle, WA) – to produce a short stop-motion film inspired by their site. The artist visited each organization and led its local community of students, older adults, local artists, and park visitors in workshops to create joyful portraits of each place. The series of films will tour participating Network sites in 2024 and 2025, serving as a traveling exhibition to inspire conversations, forge connections, and celebrate community resilience. The work is the second Joint Art Initiative (JAI) commission, a program that explores how Network members can leverage public art to inspire civic discourse and deepen connections among the communities surrounding Network projects. We hope to see you at the park for this special High Line Channel presentation and for the premiere and artist talk on November 18th! ?? "Project Ecopolis," November 18, 2024 - January 7, 2025 ?? On the High Line at 14th Street ?? Premiere and Artist Talk | November 18th at 6:30pm at The Theatre in the Rubin Museum ?? https://bit.ly/4hAbHJD

What a way to kick off November! We're thrilled to share that Alan van Capelle, executive director of Friends of the High Line, has been honored as part of the inaugural class of Village Block Stars! Alan has been recognized alongside 40 other Manhattan-based leaders who are building on the city's incredible legacy for future generations. With a focus on cultivating community and advancing well-being for all New Yorkers, Alan's leadership continues to inspire our team at the High Line to be bold and compassionate in our work. It's an honor to have Alan recognized alongside so many individuals who have dedicated their careers to serving our fellow New Yorkers. Congratulations to everyone recognized for their contributions to the city! Read the full list in PoliticsNY: https://lnkd.in/evwH9xT4

We are still buzzing with ideas and inspiration from our time together with the High Line Network in Detroit! Earlier this month, the High Line Network hosted its 2024 symposium, "Rooted"—a title that gives a nod to our overarching philosophy about how to approach public space making. Led by our team at the High Line, 250 professionals from across North America gathered in Detroit to exchange best practices on transforming disused infrastructure and forgotten places into community-driven public spaces.??? It was a joy to host the largest convening of experts in the urban infrastructure reuse field in a city that offers so many shining examples for how to put people at the center of efforts to revitalize and rebuild.?Thank you to our incredible local partners?Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Joe Louis Greenway Partnership (JLGP),?City Institute,?Michigan Central (and Newlab, Detroit),?Gilbert Family Foundation, and?Knight Foundation?for welcoming High Line Network members to Detroit and providing us all with vital learning opportunities. Our gratitude also goes out to all the staff, partners, and attendees who brought this energizing and engaging event to life! The symposium was an incredible opportunity to collaborate with the Network's partners who represent nearly 50 urban infrastructure reuse projects across North America and the community organizations and people making them happen. Detroit, you were an amazing host city to showcase our Network members' best practices in public space development!?Stay tuned for more extensive resources, videos of speeches by our incredible keynote speakers, and some of our major takeaways in a future edition of our blog.??

The High Line is first and foremost a people-powered park. This month, it was our privilege to wrap up our 2024 volunteer season with a celebration of this season's cohort of High Line volunteers! Joining us from every end of New York City (and even beyond), our dedicated volunteers have been the engine that keeps the High Line thriving since the beginning. We couldn’t keep this public space so vibrant without the folks who share their time, expertise, talent, and energy with our park-goers. To all our phenomenal volunteers—thank you for keeping the magic of the High Line alive! ? Want to be a part of this dynamic group of leaders? Sign up to keep in touch with our volunteer network: https://lnkd.in/ezcJsdfa ??: Liz Ligon, Anita Ng, Rowa Lee

You're going to want to turn your sound up for this one! ?? Our senior director of horticulture, Richard Hayden, joined Thomas Christopher on an episode of "Growing Greener," a horticulture-focused podcast produced in partnership with the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Richard shared insights on how our horticulture team has implemented the vision of the park's original garden designer, Piet Oudolf, to successfully integrate native North American plants with carefully chosen exotic species. The result? An experience that supports New York City's wildlife and offers a powerful reconnection with nature for over 7 million parkgoers annually. "Giving people the opportunity to engage with nature and put their nature eyes on...is one of the biggest functions of the High Line...Just providing the green space in this section of New York City that doesn't have a lot is really the biggest service that we can provide," said Richard. ?? Listen to Richard's episode of "Growing Greener" today, and plan your next visit to see the High Line's gardens: https://lnkd.in/eQ_Kq8tq

Happy 80th birthday to garden designer, Piet Oudolf! ?? Piet's artistry and his pioneering naturalistic—or nature-inspired—approach to garden design were key to translating the wild magic of the self-seeded landscape of the once-derelict railway into the public green space you see today. And we're thankful for all the ways Piet has continued to support the High Line 15+ years on. This month, we were lucky enough for Piet to spend some time on the High Line with our horticulture team. In between a panel with our senior director of horticulture Richard Hayden and photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo and touring the gardens, we even squeezed in an opportunity to celebrate Piet's birthday on the park. Join us today in continuing the celebration by wishing Piet Oudolf a happy birthday! ??: Liz Ligon

Read our executive director Alan van Capelle's New York Daily News op-ed and follow Protect the High Line to be a part of our fight to #ProtectTheHighLine! ?? ??: https://lnkd.in/eAycawKr

It's a beautiful day to learn about pigeons. ?? The High Line's latest installation and fourth Plinth commission, Iván Argote's "Dinosaur," was featured on CBS Sunday Morning today! As part of this broadcast on pigeons, Iván sat with CBS Sunday Morning contributor, "Extraordinary Birder" host, author, and birdwatcher Christian Cooper. Argote peeled back the curtain on the fabrication of "Dinosaur" and dived into our relationships with these iconic New York City birds. "Dinosaur is a very serious proposition of what can be a monument that doesn't celebrate men or war, victory, but celebrates a bird that's been with us since forever," said Argote. Has your perception of pigeons changed since "Dinosaur" landed on the High Line? Watch the full story, and plan your next visit to the park to see "Dinosaur" in person! ?? "Dinosaur," Iván Argote ?? October 2024 — Spring 2026 ?? On the High Line at the Spur, at 30th St. and 10th Ave. ?? CBS News, CBS Sunday Morning ??https://lnkd.in/eYqFRHmG

Meet Iván Argote— the artist behind "Dinosaur," the colossal, hyper-realistic sculpture of a pigeon cast in aluminum that will be "landing" on the High Line this week. "Dinosaur" was first submitted as a proposal for the High Line Plinth in 2020, among 80 proposals that included the third High Line Plinth commission, Pamela Rosenkranz’s "Old Tree" (2023). Iván Argote is the first Plinth artist from the global south, and the youngest yet. His work as an artist and filmmaker is heavily focused on social justice issues and historical processes, inspired by his childhood in Bogotá, as he grew up in a family with a long tradition of political and social activism. Through sculptures, installations, films, and interventions, Argote harnesses the power of humor and tenderness to question our intimate relationship with others, institutions, power, and belief systems. With "Dinosaur," Argote proposes a new symbolic use of public space, and challenges our traditional and accepted ideas of New York City's iconic pigeons and what we choose to memorialize, revere, and remember. To learn more about "Dinosaur" ahead of its landing, use the link in our bio and plan your visit to the High Line to see it! ??? "Dinosaur," Iván Argote ?? October 2024 — Spring 2026 ?? On the High Line at the Spur, at 30th St. and 10th Ave. ??? https://bit.ly/3U5fBAf ?? Yvonne Venegas

Exciting news! Our executive director Alan van Capelle has been honored in City & State NY's recent Arts & Culture Power 100 List. ?? Since assuming the role of executive director of Friends of the High Line in January 2023, Alan has consistently prioritized bringing visitors together in a spirit of belonging on our park and emphasized the importance of making world-class art and cultural events accessible to all. From broadening the reach of the High Line’s ?Arriba! Latin dance events to garner our largest audiences yet to the expansion of High Line Art's thought-provoking artwork installations to several prominent locations, Alan's leadership has inspired our team to dream big and bold in our impact. It is an honor for our executive director to be recognized alongside the leaders of so many iconic New York City's public spaces and cultural institutions. Congratulations to all of the honorees, and kudos to your ongoing and meaningful work! ??: https://lnkd.in/eWN79x3z ?? : Rowa Lee