The FIGMENT Interactive Sculpture Garden is a summer-long project taking place on Governor’s Island. The interactive garden includes 10 creative and sustainable sculpture projects that were selected from over 40 submissions. FIGMENT is a free public art event held in various cities across the United States, including Washington DC, Cedar Rapids, Pittsburgh, Boston and Detroit, an is entirely funded via grants and individual donations.
FIGMENT was founded in 2007 with its first exhibition on Governor’s Island. Since then, FIGMENT has grown into a multi-day, multi-city event drawing over 30,000 visitors. What makes FIGMENT so unique is the way the organization aims to remove the barriers of museum and gallery walls and admission fees, creating a free and participatory art community.
Each year, the FIGMENT Sculpture Garden continues to enlighten and engage visitors with participatory artwork. Past sculpture projects have included Microtopia by Quest Collective, which allowed children to construct a miniature city and skateboard park. Children even had the opportunity to graffiti mini-murals on building walls! Baynard’s SWAN was also a 2011 highlight. This project included 3 inflatable sculptures made of found fabric and inflated by fans. The sculptures challenged visitors by encouraging them to ‘Make a Wish’ and ‘Wish for Peace’ as they entered.
The installations in the 2012 FIGMENT Interactive Sculpture Garden continue to amaze visitors and include: Pulling it too Tight by Kathy Creutzburg-Enzo, which is a series of overlapping benches sporting animal features and The Circle of Intention by Supina, a small pavilion inspired by the Tibetan Prayer Wheel which welcomes ‘the intention of positive thought!’
The garden is free and open to the public during island hours on Saturdays and Sundays until September 23rd. For more information, visit FIGMENT here.