Broadway: 1000 Steps

Artist Mary Miss has embarked on a project to use the length of Broad­way as a space for instal­la­tions that can engage the pub­lic in the city’s plans for the future.  In this video from Arts​Fwd​.org, pre­pared for the Rock­e­feller Foun­da­tion, Mary Miss describes the back­ground and goals of this ambi­tious pub­lic art initiative:

As described on the artist’s web­site:

“Broad­way: 1000 Steps is a prece­dent project for the City as Liv­ing Lab­o­ra­tory: Sus­tain­abil­ity Made Tan­gi­ble Through the Arts (CaLL) ini­tia­tive.  CaLL con­ceives of the city as a lab­o­ra­tory where artists col­lab­o­rate with sci­en­tists and pol­icy mak­ers and oth­ers to add expe­ri­en­tial impact to research and plan­ning.  The instal­la­tions ini­ti­ated through “Broad­way: 1000 Steps will artic­u­late the city’s long-term sus­tain­abil­ity goals, such as those in PlaNYC, mak­ing them tan­gi­ble and com­pre­hen­si­ble to city res­i­dents. By directly engag­ing pedes­tri­ans, these encoun­ters bridge the gap between the daily choices made by indi­vid­u­als and the large-scale goals of gov­ern­men­tal plans.  This project is inher­ently col­lab­o­ra­tive and builds upon exist­ing civic and sci­en­tific insti­tu­tional efforts and resources, enabling NYC to make long-term pol­icy solu­tions vis­i­ble now. “

Broad­way: 1000 Steps is a recip­i­ent of a 2011 Rock­e­feller Foun­da­tion Cul­tural Inno­va­tion Fund award. To fol­low the progress of the project and learn more, see the project web­site at broad​way1000steps​.com.