The HIgh Line in NYC. Photo by Mike Tschappat
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. Since opening in 2009, the High Line has become an icon of contemporary landscape architecture. The High Line’s success in New York City has encouraged leaders in other cities such as Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who see it as “a symbol and catalyst” for gentrifying neighborhoods.
Friends of the High Line have announced New Monuments for New Cities, the inaugural project of the High Line Network Joint Art Initiative, a new collaboration between industrial reuse projects in North America. Of the five participating sites, two are in Texas: Buffalo Bayou in Houston and Waller Creek in Austin. The urban reuse projects, which are part of the High Line Network, invited local artists or artist groups to create proposals (in the form of posters) for new monuments. Each participating location will produce an exhibition of the 25 artworks, specific to their site.
Participating artists of the project include: Regina Agu, Nicole Awai, Judith Bernstein, Susan Blight, Daniela Cavazos Madrigal, Jamal Cyrus, Eric J. García, Guerrilla Girls, Coco Guzman, Hans Haacke, Tonika Johnson, Life of a Craphead, An Te Liu, Teruko Nimura and Rachel Alex Crist, Chris Pappan, Denise Prince, Phillip Pyle, II, Paul Ramírez Jonas, Richard Santiago (TIAGO), Xaviera Simmons, Sin Huellas artists: Delilah Montoya and Jimmy Castillo, Zissou Tasseff-Elenkoff, Vincent Valdez, Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin, and Quentin VerCetty. It’s nice to see local artists on this impressive list.
Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the Houston nonprofit organization transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, the city’s most significant natural resource. BBP also seeks ways to activate Buffalo Bayou through pedestrian, boating, and biking amenities, volunteer activities, permanent and temporary art installations, and wide-ranging tours and events. Waller Creek Conservancy parks district will include roughly 37 acres of newly designed and connected urban parks and public open space, more than three miles of new hiking and biking trails, and engaging art and educational programming.
