Doggy Bags sculptures on Broadway“Doggy Bags” giant dog sculptures take over Garment District. Photo: Alexandre Ayer/Diversity Pictures

October is a great time to visit some of the newest public art installations throughout New York City — while abiding by the health and safety guideline with social distancing and mask wearing. With the Photoville festival taking place over different boroughs for the ninth year and Union Square’s climate clock making a buzz on the headlines for marking the end of civilization on Earth, October offers some new additions to the already expansive art installation checklist from September. During these challenging times, perhaps we can experience a little rest from Optical Animal’s Projection Napping at Time Square and browse through the graffiti wall in Bowery. Here are the public art installations on display in New York City this October:

1. Doors for Doris at Doris C. Freedman Plaza

Doors for Doris at Central ParkPhoto by Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund

At Doris C. Freedman plaza there are three newly created stone sculptures made with a hybrid of imported and native materials. The mastermind behind the installation is artist Sam Moyer who uses this creation as an opportunity to pay homage to Public Art Fund founder Doris C. Freedman. 

According to Public Art Fund’s website, “these polished stones bear the markings and shapes of their original uses. They also display the unique colors, patterns, and geological history of their sources — quarries in Brazil, China, India, Italy, and beyond. Each stone in Moyer’s mosaic compositions takes on an even more striking hue against the others and the locally-quarried rock, an apt metaphor that encourages us to consider the diverse character of our city and our interconnected lives within it.” The installation will run from September 16, 2020 to September 12, 2021.