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Celebrating the Artistic, Social, Political, and Cultural Movements of Our Neighborhoods, and the People Who Gave Them Voice
Village Preservation, a New York City-based organization that has successfully advocated for the landmark designation of more than 1,250 buildings in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and Noho, announces “Village Voices 2022,” a public outdoor exhibition of 23 shadowboxes and two multifaceted, interactive installations displayed throughout Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. The exhibition takes place from September 18 to October 30, 2022.
With photographs, artifacts, and soundscape recordings, “Village Voices 2022” celebrates people, places, and moments from the neighborhoods’ artistic, social, political, and cultural movements. James Baldwin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, E.E. Cummings, Merce Cunningham, John Draper, Martha Graham, Lorraine Hansberry, Billie Holiday, Edward Hopper, Jane Jacobs, Helen Levitt, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Joan Mitchell, Joseph Papp, Charlie Parker, Jackson Pollock, Leontyne Price, Robert Rauschenberg, Maurice Sendak, Patti Smith, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, The Northern Dispensary and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory comprise the 23 shadowboxes and an additional two social justice installations.
“Village Voices was such a success last year and we are thrilled to expand our celebration of the extraordinary history of our neighborhoods and the people who have been instrumental in changing our world,” said Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation. “We look forward to welcoming neighbors, New Yorkers, and tourists from all over to come and enjoy while learning about the significant history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo.”
The two multifaceted installations address issues of social justice and human rights in our neighborhoods’ history. The installation at 70 Fifth Avenue at The New School building, is a staggering 20-foot-high window display honoring the work of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and so many others. 70 Fifth Avenue was the home to the NAACP from 1914 until the mid-1920s.
The installation at Gansevoort Plaza, A Monument to Choice, is a physical platform and monument which will carry the inscription, I Stand for Choice. It is an experiential and social media opportunity where people can rise up to show their support in standing for choice in all its meanings and iterations; it is a destination to make a statement.
“Our Village forebears were courageous leaders and changemakers of civil rights and cultural movements,” said Leslie Mason, member of Village Preservation’s Board of Trustees and a lifelong Village resident. “Advocacy in all its forms is in the bones of our community. With this exhibition, we celebrate the courageous innovators, amplify their voices, and hope to carry their examples forward.”
Curated by Village Preservation Trustee Leslie Mason and Development Director Lannyl Stephens, Village Preservation tapped Penny Hardy, founding principal of PS New York, to design the 23 shadowboxes and the large scale social Justice exhibit at 70 Fifth Avenue, Doyle Partners designed the Monument to Choice exhibit at Gansevoort Plaza that celebrates the civil rights advocacy of our neighborhoods past and present, Serge Ossorguine of Serge Audio, Inc. designed the digital and audio components, and MADE Design/Build made the boxes and the monument.
To add to the excitement of the project, notable Village residents have lent their voices to the shadowboxes, accessible via QR code. Rachel Maddow, John Leguizamo, Norman Reedus, Ed Norton, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ronson, Grace Gummer, Kathleen Chalfant are among the narrators for the 25 exhibits.
Interactive Map of the Entire Exhibition
