With fall in full swing, it is the perfect time of the year to spend the chilly New York days in an art gallery and the warm sunny ones tracking down outdoor public artworks. Here is our list of the new art installations in NYC to look out for this November!
1. Canstruction
Canstruction is a highly anticipated annual design competition, this year featuring 28 teams going head-to-head to create the best sculptures entirely out of unopened nonperishable cans of food. The teams consist of professionals in the industries of engineering and design. Once the exhibition is closed and a winner is selected, all the food used for the sculptures is donated to local food pantries. Canstruction sculptures will be on view at Brookfield Place from November 2nd to November 13th.
2. Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Photo Credit: Kat Gollock
Ring in the holiday season early with Lightscape, a nighttime illuminated trail housed for its third year at the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The trail will have new works of art and a magical experience like never before. Guests can look out for new installations like Sea of Light which will illuminate the garden’s 100,000 square foot Cherry Esplanade, and also listen to an updated playlist featuring hits by Taylor Swift, Elton John, and some Brooklyn classics to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Lightscape will be open from November 17th to January 1st at Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
3. Marta Minujin’s Sculpture of Dreams in Times Square
Photo by Michael Hull, courtesy of Times Square Arts
Famous Buenos Aires native, Russian-Jewish artist Marta Minujin is back with an extravagant 30-foot inflatable sculpture to be on view in Times Square. Minujin is in her sixth decade as an artist, with years behind and ahead of her experimenting with using mattresses as a medium and bright colors not only in her art but in her personal fashion as well. Sculpture of Dreams was created to be interactive, inviting visitors to whisper their hopes and desires into the interior of the piece.
Get lost under the structure, gazing at the flashy colors and stripes of the inflatable material above you. Sculpture of Dreams will be on view in Times Square from November 8th to November 21st.
4. Richard Haas Mural Restoration at 112 Prince Street
Photo Credit: Nora Hogan
Richard Haas’ iconic 112 Prince St. mural is currently being repainted by muralist Robin Alcantara and his team. The original trompe l’oeil mural was created in 1974 to mirror the front-facing facade of the 19th-century building. Over the years, graffiti and weather have worn on Haas’ work, leaving only a shadow of what it once was remaining. Alcantara’s venture to completely repaint the mural was a long time coming, and Soho residents and tourists alike will be pleased to see the newly refreshed final product. The painting of the mural is expected to be completed on November 1st.
5. Mictlán, DĂa de los Muertos Altar
Courtesy of Green-Wood. Photo Credit: Cinthya Santos-Briones
DĂa de los Muertos is a day in which the spirits of the dead are welcomed back into our world for a short time. It is celebrated through music, art, dancing, ofrendas, and time spent with friends and family. Cinthya Santos-Briones has crafted a beautiful community altar for Green-Wood’s Chapel. Visitors can commemorate their loved ones by lighting candles or leaving meaningful personal offerings by the altar. Santos-Briones sourced the fabrics used for the centerpiece skulls from her hometown of Tulancingo, giving the whole altar a personal feel that will touch the hearts of many. Mictlán opened on October 14th and will run daily, 10am to 5pm, through November 19th.
6. New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show
The New York Botanical Garden is bringing back its Holiday Train Show this year with the promise to be bigger and better than ever. Watch trains zip by hundreds of scale models of iconic New York buildings, like Yankee Stadium or the Empire State Building. Be sure to look above you to catch 1800s steam engines and street cars traveling over New York City bridges and through tunnels in a brand-new aerial display overhead. The team behind the show, Applied Imagination, takes an environmentally friendly route with their projects, for example using screw-bean mesquite pods to represent the hair on the Statue of Liberty model or Eucalyptus seed pods to build Saks Fifth Avenue.
7. New York Botanical Garden GLOW
Image Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden
On select nights this holiday season, guests can visit the NYBG Train Show as well as GLOW, an extravagant outdoor light experience. The many libraries and conservatories of the Garden will transform into canvases for this light show, decked out in thousands of lights with sounds dancing across the buildings. Similar to the Holiday Train Show, the designers of GLOW opted to use energy-efficient lights to create the same glittering display with less cost to our planet. Drinks and food can be purchased at the Garden’s outdoor bars or at the Bronx Night Market pop-up that will be included for the holiday season.
Artist Keri Sheheen joins forces with the Staten Island Railway to beautify the New Dorp station. Her piece, titled “Creeping on Where Time Has Been” uses laminated glass windows and metal railings to honor Staten Island’s architecture and nature. While waiting for your train, visitors can view the art and try to spot the iconic landmarks of the borough, like the Vanderbilt Mausoleum. The project’s title comes from a poem by Charles Dickens called “The Ivy Green”, alluding to the ivy that has always, and seemingly will always, be prevalent on Staten Island.
9. Bella Abzug Park Sculptures
Courtesy of the Artist and Sapar Contemporary
NYC Art in the Parks Program continues with a new large-scale exhibition by Sui Park to be installed throughout Bella Abzug Park. Titled City Ecology, this collection of 32 sculptures is a physical embodiment of the residents within New York- colorful stories, vibrant lives, and dynamic patterns. Park created these figures out of cable ties, weaving them together to form shaped masses. They will be installed throughout the park, in some cases blending into the surroundings beautifully and in other cases bringing a gorgeous contrast. Park hopes that these sculptures will give passing visitors a moment to pause and be aware of the beauty around them.
10. Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North
Nancy Lawson (Credit: William Matthew Prior/American Folk Art Museum
Black representation during the late 1600s to the early 1800s is undoubtedly pushed to the background of our textbooks, even more so in New England’s history. This new exhibit will give visitors a rare look into African American presence and absence in the North through 125 beautiful works, including portraits, paintings, needlework, and photos. Narratives will be flipped entirely with a walk through this highly-anticipated exhibition. The exhibition will be on display at the American Folk Art Museum from November 15th through March 24th.
11. Art Students League Sculptures at Riverside Park
“Portrait of t” rendering by Sophia Kahn“Our Gates” rendering by Marco Palli
The Works in Public program aims to create large-scale sculptures for outdoor spaces within the span of a year. On November 9th, two new pieces will be unveiled for the 2023 program. The first sculpture by Sophie Kahn, titled “Portrait of t” is a glitched body scan cast in iron. Kahn wanted to highlight the importance of bringing light to the anonymous lives existing in the public. Marco Palli’s piece, titled “Our Gates” is a celebration of the city and its diversity. He used arches interlocking one another to welcome viewers into the larger community.
12. United Mural at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
Photograph Courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals
On November 1, 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs unveiled a new mural, titled United, at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. The mural, created by artist Fernando “Ski” Romero, features photos taken on disposable cameras by participants in the Guns Down, Life Up initiative. The scenes captured provide a look into life in the South Bronx. The photographs were incorporated into the final mural using silkscreen and collage techniques. The mural features QR codes that link to videos, poems, and more artwork. This project is a collaboration with Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, the 2022-23 NYC Public Artist in Residence. The year-round residency program has also featured modern adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, art exhibitions, and a Carnegie Hall showcase. NYC Health + Hospitals continues its hospital intervention program alongside the art, aiming to end gun violence through community engagement.
13. Bird MMXXIII at Governors Island
Photograph Courtesy of Sheila Berger
Artist Sheila Berger’s new statue, titled Bird MMXXIII, has landed on Governors Island! The bird is made of stainless steel, with a mirrored surface and crown atop its head, designed to resemble the Statue of Liberty. Viewers can see themselves on the mirrored belly and see the beautiful backdrop of the Island, encouraging a moment of peace and awareness. Berger is known for her bird creations that remind us that we share this planet and that we are equal to even the smallest of creatures. The bird is part of an effort by Governors Island to expand their range of public art displays, creating a hub for artists to widen their public reach.
14. GingerbreadNYC at MCNY
For a second year, the Museum of the City of New York will host Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off. This fan-favorite gingerbread competition brings together the joy of holiday sweets and the celebration of neighborhoods in the five boroughs. The museum invites professionals and hobby bakers alike to create a display based on the neighborhoods they call home, inspired by the theme “Iconic New York.” This competition is a serious event, with judges such as Bobbie Lloyd, the CEO of Magnolia Bakery, or Jonah Nigh, a semi-finalist on NBC’s Baking It. The gingerbread houses will be on view to the public from November 10th through January 15th.
15. The Singing Trees of Harlem Holiday Lights
Photo Courtesy of 125th Street BID
The 125th Street BID’s annual Harlem Holiday Lights parade will celebrate its 30th anniversary when the festive gathering takes to the streets on the evening of November 14th this year. The joyful march is the only parade of lights in New York City and this year will feature something extra special, interactive singing trees! These five trees designed by Limbic Media highlight local businesses across the five-block business corridor and celebrate the sounds of Harlem. Each tree pays tribute to a different musical genre, from Jazz and Hip Hop to Old School, R&B, and Classical. They’ll be grooving until March 2024 as part of the Shine On, Harlem Challenge. Visitors can use the Vibemap to earn points and win prizes from the challenge all winter long!
Writer currently living in Queens and attending St. John's University with a passion for history, art, language, and the ever-changing world around us.
