Over Ons

Socrates Sculpture Park is a community engaged New York City waterfront park dedicated to supporting artists in the production and presentation of public art.

Once an abandoned landfill and illegal dumpsite on the Queens waterfront, Socrates Sculpture Park was founded in 1986 by a coalition of artists and community members working in collaboration with sculptor Mark di Suvero, among the most renowned artists of his generation. Through a radical act of land reclamation, shaped by collective action and shared purpose, they transformed six acres on the East River into a new model for engagement with the arts—a place at once a public park, outdoor studio, exhibition venue, and site for community gathering.

Socrates is the only organization in New York City that collaborates with artists onsite to create public art while simultaneously managing a city-owned park. Known for fostering ambitious and visionary artworks, Socrates has presented more than 1,200 artists, providing them the financial support,  mentorship, materials, equipment, and space necessary to create large-scale works in the public realm.

Annually, the Park organizes a dynamic season of free public programs in collaboration with over 20 cultural partners. These programs — which include performances, environmental celebrations, cultural festivals, art education initiatives, and Healthy Living series featuring yoga, meditation, and kayaking — are designed to reflect the cultural diversity of Queens as well as the themes of the Park’s exhibitions and its ecological focus.

Socrates fundraises 100% of its operating budget— supporting all aspects of running the Park, from maintaining the grounds to programming creative offerings and caring for a place that many call home. With only 3-5% of our budget funded by public grants, Socrates depends on private fundraising, notably from foundations and corporations, as well as individuals who believe in what we do.

The Park is open 365 days a year from 9am to sunset and admission to our exhibitions, programs, and gardens is always free. All are welcome!

Socrates Sculpture Park is on the ancestral land of the Lenape, Carnarsie, and Matinecock Peoples.

Artist Jeffrey Gibson (Choctaw-Cherokee) invited the Indigenous Kinship Collective to deliver a Land Acknowledgment at the Park as part of the project  ‘Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House.’

Alle programmering in Socrates Sculpture Park is gratis en mede mogelijk gemaakt door de steun van de AG Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Charina Endowment Fund, City Parks Foundation, Con Edison, The Cowles Charitable Trust, Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Stuart en Maxine Frankel Foundation, Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, The Goldstone Family Foundation, William Talbott Hillman Foundation, Hyde & Watson Foundation, Kite Key Foundation, Lambent Foundation, de Leon Levy Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Mathis-Pfohl Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Molly Blank Fund, Silman, A TYLin Company, Margaret Silva Fund, TD Charitable Foundation, evenals de Raad van Bestuur van Socrates Sculpture Park, en onze vele genereuze individuele donateurs.

De programma's van Socrates worden ook gedeeltelijk ondersteund door publieke middelen van de Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; het NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in samenwerking met de New York City Council, de New York State Council on the Arts; NYC Department of Parks & Recreation; en de National Endowment for the Arts.
Materiële steun wordt genereus verleend door Spacetime C.C.

Socrates Sculpture Park erkent de genereuze steun die wordt verleend door Collaborative Arts Network New York (CANNY). Als een coalitie van kleine tot middelgrote multidisciplinaire kunstorganisaties zet CANNY zich in voor het versterken van de infrastructuur van non-profit kunstorganisaties in heel New York. Voor meer informatie over CANNY, bezoek aub https://can-ny.org/.