10th Anniversary Art Festival & Block Party
First Street Green celebrates its 10 year anniversary as an open-air art space with a Block Party this October. Help us raise critical funds to support participating artists and musicians!
Leader
Anna Souvorov
Location
33 East 1st Street New York, NY 10003
About the project
First Street Green marked its 10th Anniversary on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, operating as an open-air art space and garden in the Lower East Side. Over the years, FSG has worked with hundreds of artists and collaborated with dozens of local organizations hosting events, workshops prioritizing public wellness, cultural diversity and creative engagement. Visual artists have painted over the mural walls time and time again. This fall, FSG's core volunteers and founding directors join forces to create a celebratory Block Party and participatory art festival. We plan to invite artists, musicians, poets and performers to create site specific installations and interactive workshops for the event. Help us to raise critical funds for artist and musician stipends and to cover essential materials costs and promotion expenses. We look forward to celebrating as a community to ensure the next decade of free cultural programming.
The Steps
June - FSG will host community art events, park beautification days, and mural painting with school children. FSG will do a strategic mailing of an appeal and invitation to the Block Party in the Fall. An invitation to submit proposals to the Block Party art fair, auction or performance schedule will be released to our mailing list of former artists, supporters and local partners. Begin work on park maintenance and repairs to the corral and mural walls.
July - FSG will continue to fundraise and host a community wellness event with yoga and meditation. It will also organize a visioning event and town hall to collect the community's feedback and ideas about the park. Continue park maintenance and repairs to the corral and mural walls.
August - Review and make artist selections from the submissions. Finalize the curation and line up. Contact food vendors and other local businesses. Complete park maintenance and repairs to the corral and mural walls. Apply for permits and street closure. Do another mailing about the Block Party.
September - Confirm all vendors. Receive permits and street closure. Finalize details of participating artists.
Why we‘re doing it
FSG's mission is to provide diverse and engaging arts programming to our section of First Park. Our goal is to sustain and advance the use of this public land for cultural purposes. In celebration of our successes, FSG is organizing a Block Party to bring the community together around the mission of securing access to free quality programming "in our own backyard."
We partnered with IOBY to make our mission known and impactful. The paved courtyard plaza and gardens have been used for concerts, photoshoots, fashion runways, dance performances and art workshops of all types for many years. We want to continue providing opportunities for the community to partake, enjoy and learn of these activities, as well as giving emerging and established artists a platform to present, engage and expand their practices in a public space.