Lincoln Center has rolled out the green carpet with a “participatory public art installation” covering its 14,000 square foot concrete plaza.
New Yorkers (and their pups) got to wander the artificial lawns around the Revson Fountain yesterday.
Broadway set designer and MacArthur Genius grantee Mimi Lien was tasked with reimagining the center for the outdoor program — and has come up with “The GREEN” to contrast the classic stark white architecture of the arts complex. She hopes her creation will become an oasis for New Yorkers not only to enjoy performances, but also to come out and relax. She described the area in front of the Metropolitan Opera House as “a town green, a place to gather.”
The installation will also be one of the 10 venues for outdoor performances in Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages initiative, announced in February.
“I wanted to make a place where you could lie on a grassy slope and read a book all afternoon,” Lien explained. “Get a coffee and sit in the sun. Bring your babies and frolic in the grass. Have a picnic lunch with co-workers.”
The artificial grass is made of recyclable material with a high soy content, sourced from American farms. The plaza is open from 9am to midnight and there will be a pop-up snack bar from Nuchas (not open yet) and library (organized by New York Public Library for the Performing Arts) with books to borrow.
The Lincoln Center Green opened yesterday and will continue through to September. Outdoor performance seasons started a few weeks ago with a New York Philharmonic performance for essential workers. More details of what’s to come can be found at RestartStages.org.
