NEW YORK, NY.- Public Art Fund announced Between Tides, a dynamic outdoor exhibition bringing together local and international contemporary artists—Moko Fukuyama, Ilana Harris-Babou, Las Hermanas Iglesias, Carlos H. Matos, Amalia Pica, and SUPERFLEX—to present newly commissioned sculptural ping-pong tables on Rockaway Beach. From June 27 through September 13, 2026, beachgoers are invited to grab a paddle and engage with these works installed directly on the sand.
Responding to the richness of Rockaway Beach, one of New York City’s most beloved recreational areas, the artists in the exhibition reimagine the ping-pong table in inventive ways: as a sea legend, an interspecies habitat, a composite musical instrument, maritime flags, a beach scene cast in ceramic, and an ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. Visitors are encouraged to experience these works in both traditional and unexpected ways, expanding the boundaries of play, participation, and fun—and reinforcing the power of public art to inspire discovery and catalyze social connections. Between Tides reflects the cultural landscape of Queens, one of the nation’s most demographically diverse regions, and Rockaway Peninsula, which is home to numerous delicate ecosystems and a rich array of wildlife species.
Between Tides centers on community participation and builds on the layered history of table tennis. Originally a parlor game for the elite in Victorian England, it later became a global pastime, a tool for diplomacy between the United States and China, and eventually an Olympic sport. Due to its accessibility, the game cuts across class, race, age, and gender divisions. Between Tides continues a tradition of artists who, since the 1970s, have explored ping-pong as a platform for creative exchange, rule-breaking, and challenging expectations.
“Between Tides embodies the transformative role of public art, rethinking a familiar game in ways that foster shared encounters and celebrate the joyful energy of summer. Each work in this exhibition reveals a fresh perspective on play—whether by emphasizing its collective nature, or promoting it as a means of social interaction,” notes Public Art Fund Associate Curator of Public Practice, Gabriela López Dena. “Set against the backdrop of Rockaway Beach, these sculptures reinforce connection and the vibrancy of communal spaces, while acknowledging the ecological and cultural forces that shape them.”
Throughout the summer, as millions of visitors make their way to Rockaway Beach to surf, swim, and sunbathe, Public Art Fund will offer opportunities to enjoy Between Tides, including free ping-pong equipment available to borrow on the weekends, organized ping-pong events, and special programming. In partnership with local community organization RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity), groups of students will also connect with the exhibition through workshops and guided visits. Everyone is invited to “BYOP” (Bring Your Own Paddle – and balls) and visit the sculptures for an unconventional game of ping-pong any day of the week.
“People create their own forms of leisure on the beach. Some come to simply relax under an umbrella, while others play volleyball, dance, or body surf. The beach doesn’t dictate how you should spend your time; you and the people you’re with create your own rituals and experiences. I wanted to make something that could be used in multiple ways, inviting people to imagine new forms of play,” said artist Ilana Harris-Babou.
“New York City has a profound relationship with water in our day-to-day lives, and Rockaway Beach exemplifies that bond, serving as a comforting reminder that, in less than an hour, you can escape the chaos of the city and reconnect with the ocean,” says artist Moko Fukuyama.
Public Art Fund’s first exhibition at the site, Between Tides follows ongoing community engagement at Rockaway Beach begun in summer 2024 with Queens-based collective Mobile Print Power and with RISE.
ARTWORKS INCLUDE:
Moko Fukuyama, Old School, 2026
A salvaged boat from Marina 59 in the Rockaways and a ping-pong table top are gripped by a giant sea monster. The mysterious, octopus-like being evokes mythical figures like the Scandinavian Kraken—a creature that has fueled sailors’ superstitions since the 1700s—or the Japanese Akkorokamui—a sea deity said to appear on calm waters before quickly turning them tumultuous. Fukuyama crafted the sea monster’s tentacles from a reclaimed walnut tree and finished them with bright automotive paint, giving them an alluring, otherworldly presence. The aluminum boat, prized in the 1950s for its innovative design, lies capsized on the shore, suggesting the impermanence of human-made objects and the forces of nature that eventually consume them. Through a mix of nautical imagery and playfulness, Old School revisits legends of the sea, reflecting on the enduring power of myths and how they shape our understanding of the vast, uncontrollable forces of nature.
Las Hermanas Iglesias, DiMeLo, 2026
Each game played on this musical sculpture creates a live composition. Inspired by the artists’ childhood experiences of collaborative play, the table becomes a space for musical improvisation. Percussion instruments associated with the many cultures that shape Queens are embedded in the surface of the table, inviting players to treat it as a music-making object. One side of the sculpture is custom-made and includes a glockenspiel—a series of tuned metal bars whose bright tones echo metallophone traditions found across Europe and Asia. The other side features a set of ready-made instruments, including handpan, tom drums, and cymbals, all of which have ancient origins and continue to be used in diverse settings, from Indian temples to jazz bands and modern orchestras. As participants play a match, they celebrate the borough’s unique cultural mix, varied migration stories, and ever-evolving sonic landscape.
Ilana Harris-Babou, for those of us who live at the shoreline, 2026
Four sculptures in terrazzo and concrete invite visitors to engage in unstructured discovery. Assorted ceramic beach items, including a book, bottle, and sunglasses, lie scattered across a ping-pong table, disrupting the typical flow of the game. Nearby, a seating area with a beach umbrella holder and ceramic tiles hinting at board games offers space for rest, recreation, and interaction. Harris-Babou’s process was inspired by hundreds of drawings created by beachgoers during workshops led by the Queens-based collective Mobile Print Power along the Rockaway Beach boardwalk in the summer of 2024. Borrowing its title from the first line of Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival, the artist imagines the shoreline as a space of possibility, inviting individuals to find their own voice. Drawing on the principles of "free play," Harris-Babou encourages open-ended participation and improvisation, shifting the focus from mastery to exploration.
Carlos H. Matos, Tlachco, 2026
Matos merges the physical structure of ping-pong with a scaled-down version of an Ulama court. Ulama, a Mesoamerican ballgame considered one of the oldest sports in the world, holds both recreational and ritual significance and is still played today. The game symbolizes cosmic battles, and its courts, or tlachco, were often regarded by the Aztecs and Maya as portals to the underworld. In Ulama, two teams use their hips, forearms, and thighs to strike a rubber ball, scoring points by pushing it across the opposing team’s end line or by the challenging feat of passing it through hoops anchored to the court’s tilted side walls. Echoing the way Ulama is played and referencing the court’s architectural elements, Matos creates a game that blends ancestral tradition with contemporary leisure. The result is a transcultural experience that connects past and present, inviting players to engage with layers of history.
Amalia Pica, Fair Play, 2026
Pica’s sculpture consists of eight tabletops displaying the International Code of Signals, a colorful system sailors use to communicate between ships and share information visually. Each module features a symbol from the language’s alphabet, together spelling out “FAIR PLAY.” Their staggered configuration invites friends and strangers to join several simultaneous matches, turning what is typically a two-person game into a multiplayer experience. This setup encourages up to ten people to participate and emphasizes the collective nature of play. Fabric flags suspended between two vertical posts read “COME PLAY,” extending an invitation to socialize and have fun. These flags were made in collaboration with RISE, a Rockaway organization that inspires local residents to care for their environment and community.
SUPERFLEX, Fish Ping-Pong, 2026
This pink stone structure serves a dual purpose: hosting ping-pong games and supporting marine life. Inspired by housing blocks in the Rockaways, its brutalist form evokes the façades of 20th-century modernist buildings. If submerged, the sculpture would provide an ideal habitat for ocean creatures. Its design—with two large holes in the tabletop and multiple openings throughout the structure—creates spaces where microorganisms like plankton and algae can thrive, attracting fish and other sea creatures. The color pink has been shown by scientists to promote coral growth, further nurturing biodiversity. By reimagining modernist architecture to accommodate other species, Fish Ping-Pong builds on SUPERFLEX’s research into interspecies living, fostering relationships between diverse life forms. Positioned so that one player faces the sea and the other the city, the sculpture points toward harmonious coexistence between humans, urban life, and the ocean.
Between Tides is curated by Public Art Fund Associate Curator of Public Practice, Gabriela López Dena.
