Bringing the Arts to East River Park

The East River Park Coalition was formed in 2015 by three groups active in the Lower East Side community: the educational non-profit MIRA; the grassroots community group Building Amor, based in the nearby Lillian Wald Houses; and visual artist Diana Carulli. With a shared vision for increasing the use of this historic but under-utilized park, the Coalition aims to promote the park’s unique potential as an "open studio" to nuture local creative voices.

The park is located in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, the historic Lower East Side. With new economic development has come striking inequalities. Sadly, many community members are becoming isolated and are not benefitting from the neighborhood's evolving cultural and artistic life. As one of this neighborhood's premier public spaces, we want to elevate this often-neglected park into a forum for empowering local youth by bringing in premier local artists and musicians who want to teach, co-create and change lives.

This programming will includes a series of artistic workshops in which teaching artists engage young people from the surrounding community, monthly explorative labyrinth walks (at the East River Reflections Labyrinth) with an expert facilitator, musical events featuring musicians from the Lower East Side community, and a public exhibition of artistic works by local youth that were inspired by or created in the park.

By bringing creativity programming to East River Park, we hope to utilize it to its full potential as a public space for education, enjoyment and environmental stewardship on the Lower East Side.

We expect the following activities, funded by your generous, to take place during 2018

-- engage a trained exert facilitator for monthly explorative community labyrinth walks (at East River Refletions Labyrinth)

-- contract local teaching artists to deliver a series of artistic workshops focused on using the park as a vehicle for creative expression

-- bring local musicians to the park for community enjoyment

-- organize and host a public exhibition and opening event of works by local youth inspired by or created in East River Park

--re-launch the online interactive East River Park Scavenger Hunt event as a free historical walking tour for all to enjoy

One of the world’s most diverse and historic neighborhoods, Manhattan's Lower East Side is experiencing rapid gentrification, leaving many lower-income residents isolated within their own neighborhood. Many local residents cannot afford to take advantage of the neighborhood’s new shops and restaurants, and many of the area's public spaces are disappearing in favor of new high-end housing developments. For young people, this shift is particiularly devestating as there are fewer and fewer safe places for them to interact with other community members. Truly the once vibrant community spirit that has made the Lower East Side famous is slowly dying. 

Given this community's important cultural and artistic heritage, we need to preserve and utilize its remaining public spaces to engage all community members and bring local artists, musicians and community leaders to those who need them most. A unique riverside linear park stretching from Montgomery St. to East 12th St. along the FDR Drive, East River Park is the perfect place to bring local artists and musicians into the lives of vulnerable youth. As they empower and inspire local youth, creative and engaging activities promote local stewardship and ownership of public space. This in turn: 

·         promotes greater civic engagement in the community and wider city;

·         helps young people to realize the full range opportunities available to them with regard to livelihoods and self-expression;

·         fosters local pride and participatin in caring for the park and neighborhood; and

·         opens up new opportunities for community dialogue.

With your generous contributions to this project, we hope to build a stronger, more cohesive Lower East Side community around one of the city's greatest free public spaces.