Socrates Park

Socrates Sculpture Park sits right on the East River waterfront at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, and 2026 marks its own major milestone: the park is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with a Summer Solstice Celebration marking 30 years of the Socrates Annual Fellowship program through an exhibition called "Artists Choose Artists." That opened with the first three site-specific installations by 2026 Artist Fellows Josué Guarionex, Jeremy John Kaplan, and Nicole Mouriño, with the larger exhibition continuing through Fall 2027 and ultimately bringing ten total installations across the park over the summer. Existing landmark works include Chakaia Booker's large sculptures Serendipity, Gridlock, and LIKE. July 2026 programming included the exhibition "Homecoming: John Morse," as part of the larger "2026 Socrates Annual: Artists Choose Artists" program, with Morse's work built primarily around flags as a medium for public art. Other highlights include a synthesizer concert, a clay-sculpture workshop, and a performance by Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York. True to its founding mission, the park remains a free, four-acre outdoor space founded by sculptor Mark di Suvero on a former landfill and illegal dumpsite, and is the largest outdoor space in New York City dedicated to exhibiting sculpture, with art built and installed on-site so visitors can watch the creative process unfold.