Public Art Takes Over New York City Parks and Outdoor Spaces This Autumn
This autumn, New York City's parks are exhibiting a variety of striking outdoor art installations. On Governors Island, Alan Michelson's *The Oyster* pays tribute to Indigenous heritage and New York Harbor's ecology. City Hall Park features Genesis Belanger's *Heads or Tails*, showcasing bird sculptures and bronze artistry. The High Line includes Ximena Garrido-Lecca's *The Golden Crop* and works by Derek Fordjour and Patricia Ayres. Madison Square Park hosts Roberto Lugo's *Alfarero del Barrio*, celebrating Puerto Rican culture. MoMA PS1 displays Precious Okoyomon's *Among the Flowers I Learned to Love* while Socrates Sculpture Park spotlights Chakaia Booker's tire sculptures.
Key facts
- Alan Michelson's The Oyster (2026) is on Governors Island, commissioned by More Art with the Billion Oyster Project and Governors Island Arts.
- Genesis Belanger's Public Art Fund exhibition Heads or Tails is in City Hall Park and includes sculptural birds, three potted fruit trees and two bronze figures.
- Ximena Garrido-Lecca's The Golden Crop (2026) on the High Line is a 9ft-tall bronze fountain shaped like a corn cob with neon-yellow water referencing glyphosate.
- Derek Fordjour's ARCHETYPES series on the High Line includes ARCHETYPE III: Resilience (2026), depicting a boxer, a burlesque dancer and a waiter.
- Patricia Ayres's three High Line sculptures have titles that decode to the names of Catholic saints.
- Roberto Lugo's Alfarero del Barrio (Village Potter) in Madison Square Park features a giant orange fire hydrant and a 20ft-tall urn with portraits of Sonia Sotomayor, Bad Bunny, Roberto Clemente and Lugo's parents.
- Precious Okoyomon's Among the Flowers I Learned to Love: A Garden of Decreation (2026) at MoMA PS1 includes a 25ft-long climbable teddy bear filled with glowing lights and poetry.
- Chakaia Booker's trio of recycled-tyre sculptures is installed in Socrates Sculpture Park, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Entities
Artists
- Alan Michelson
- Genesis Belanger
- Ximena Garrido-Lecca
- Derek Fordjour
- Patricia Ayres
- Roberto Lugo
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Bad Bunny
- Roberto Clemente
- Precious Okoyomon
- Chakaia Booker
- Cristina Iglesias
- Kiyan Williams
- Hugh Hayden
- Tau Lewis
- Leilah Babirye
- Dozie Kanu
- Hélio Oiticica
- Maren Hassinger
Institutions
- More Art
- Billion Oyster Project
- Governors Island Arts
- Public Art Fund
- Pace Gallery
- Perrotin
- High Line
- Madison Square Park Conservancy
- R & Company
- MoMA PS1
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- New York Botanical Garden
- Artribune
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Governors Island
- New York Harbor
- City Hall Park
- High Line
- Madison Square Park
- Queens
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- Manhattan
- Flatiron Building
- Brooklyn
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- East River
- Dumbo
- Bronx
- New York Botanical Garden
- Staten Island
- Central Park
- Washington