NEW YORK, NY.- This spring, Harlem Sculpture Gardens returns after a successful debut in 2024, bringing sculptures and outdoor furniture to seven venues across West Harlem. The exhibition will take place between May 2nd and October 30, 2025. Venues that will display art are:

Morningside Park
Featuring sculptures Abigail Regner, Peter Miller, Savona Bailey-McClain, Vaimoana Oufi Khalie, Motohiro Takeda, Graciela Cassel, Michael Levchenko, Michael V. Poast

St. Nicholas Park
Featuring Bridget Conway, Ayala Naphtali, Fitgi Saint-Louis, Peter Miller, David Karoff, Richard Brachman, Joseph Bochynski, David Sheldon

Jackie Robinson Park
Featuring Dianne Smith, Michael V. Poast, Margaret Roleke, Carole Eisner, An Pham, Laurie Sheridan, Eunkyung Lee, Luke Schumacher

Montefiore Park
Featuring Shervone Neckles

Broadway Malls @ 148th Street
Featuring iliana emilia Garcia

Ralph Ellison Memorial/Riverside Park @150th Street
Featuring Elizabeth Catlett

Maggie’s Garden
Featuring Shenna Vaughn

To realize the exhibition, land management practices had to be taken into considera-tion. Environmental impacts such as soil erosion, compaction and fallen trees had to be addressed. The organizers partnered with the City College School of Architecture and the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures to create resiliency plans with NYC De-partment of Parks and Recreation.

"Connecting art, nature, and fabrication is key to securing local support," says Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund. In a city where res-idents often feel disconnected, our exhibition encourages New Yorkers to enjoy art but also picnicking, bird watch, visit local restaurants, or spend time with friends.

Further partnerships with Brotherhood Sister Sol and housing advocate June Moses were developed to address the street trees surrounding the parks and quality of life concerns such as heat indexes and air quality. Public engagement relationships were formed to alert and educate local residents about these impacts with programming. We gave away trees with New York Restoration Project and the Office of the Manhat-tan Borough President. We shared op-eds that talked about the issue of resiliency and what that means in urban settings with experts from NYU Gallatin Wetlab.

Michael Gormley , NYAE Executive Director, notes that, "Along with its presenting partner, the West Harlem Art Fund, NYAE is committed to fostering a diverse and in-clusive access to cultural programming regardless of political headwinds that seek to suppress and intimidate equitable advancement. Harlem Sculpture Gardens is a highly articulated and compelling display of public art that deems otherwise."

Engaging the public with the production of art is another important component for this exhibition. The skills necessary to fabricate public art is also used to design furni-ture, and build architecture.

Three fabrication teams created sculpture and outdoor benches. Beam Center, a youth based organization in Brooklyn fabricated the Beacon for Queens artist Shervone Neckles and Fe Limye for Harlem artist Fitgi Saint-Louis.

"Broadway Mall Association is thrilled to be part of the West Harlem Art Fund's Har-lem Sculpture Gardens," said Andrew Genn, Executive Director of the Broadway Mall Association. "BMA's mission is to activate these accessible little gardens in the middle of busy Broadway. We are especially excited to have iliana emilia Garcia beautiful, po-etical work,Trinity: I/You/We at our walk-through mall at 148th Street mall where it will help enhance it as a community gathering place for our neighbors to rest, mingle, think and get inspired. Thank you WHAF for making it happen!"

West Harlem Art Fund assembled a fabrication and installation team led by Atu Rams and Gary Linares for the works Place of the Rushes, Gate Harlem and Bound. Opening Day is Friday, May 2nd with an official walk led by the organizers Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund and Michael Gormley, Ex-ecutive Director of NY Artist Equity Association.

The official walk begins at the main entrance of St. Nicholas Park on 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue at 1pm. It coincides with the celebration of Jane’s Walk (May 2nd - 5th) with the Municipal Art Society.