NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Howard Hughes Corporation® (NYSE: HHC) unveiled today the Seaport Culture District, an innovative new program coming to the Seaport District that brings together a dynamic gathering of cultural partners and collaborating organizations, spaces, installations and interactive opportunities on the storied streets in Lower Manhattan. Beginning mid-August and running through the end of December, the Culture District includes a collection of New York’s most influential and distinguished cultural organizations showcasing an array of indoor and outdoor spaces stretching across the historic neighborhood under the direction of architect and urbanist James Sanders, AIA. With the curation of the Seaport Culture District, the company continues its commitment to provide authentic New York experiences that touch fashion, food, entertainment, art, design, history, culture and technology in one bustling, vibrant neighborhood - all while showcasing its rich, historic roots.
“The Seaport Culture District adds another rich layer to the historic fabric of the Seaport District by creating a 21st century hub of ideas, activities and cultural energy,” said David R. Weinreb, Chief Executive Officer of The Howard Hughes Corporation. “This continues the transformation of the Seaport District into one of New York’s premier destinations for new and one-of-a-kind cultural, culinary, fashion and entertainment experiences.”
The Seaport Culture District along with the recently opened Seaport Studios and Smorgasburg provides an exciting glimpse into the future district-wide menu the Seaport will offer locals and visitors as The Howard Hughes Corporation continues its revitalization of the iconic neighborhood into one of the ultimate destinations for New Yorkers. The iPic theatre - Manhattan’s first luxury movie venue - is under construction and will open in the refurbished Fulton Market Building in 2016. In 2017, seven city blocks and the new Pier 17 building will fully reopen with 365,000 square feet of 85 new shops and restaurants filled with art, fashion, culinary and entertainment experiences. The new Pier 17 - where work is also already in progress - is highlighted by a one-and-a-half-acre rooftop that will include a world-class restaurant, two outdoor bars and an amphitheater that will hold up to 4,000 people for concerts and special events, becoming one of the leading boutique entertainment venues in the world. With 40% more open space, Pier 17 will showcase spectacular views of the Brooklyn Bridge, New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.
The Seaport Culture District partners and collaborating organizations coming together for the first time include AIANY Center for Architecture and Archtober, AIGA/NY, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, HarperCollins Publishers, Eyebeam, Arup and Art Start. In addition to the extensive installations and exhibitions, the Seaport Culture District organizations - spanning from architecture, art, graphic design, photography and film to technology, publishing and fashion - will offer more than one hundred lunchtime and after-work events, including educational talks, presentations, panel discussions, forums, screenings, walking tours, sketching workshops and photography classes among other public events. Extensive after-school educational programs will also be available for grades K-12 along with additional family offerings on weekends.
The Seaport Culture District activations include:
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The AIANY Center for Architecture on Front Street will
present Sea Level: Five Boroughs at Water’s Edge, a
series of large scale images of the East River waterfront by
photographer Elizabeth Felicella. The installation is accompanied by
texts and curated by author/historian Robert Sullivan (My American
Revolution) - installed within a sinuous, curved space by Andrew
Berman Architects with graphics by Perrin Studio.
The AIANY space at the Seaport will be the headquarters to Archtober in October, the premier citywide festival of the built environment, bringing together 51 cultural partners from all across New York. Across the month, the Archtober Hall will host scores of design-related public events, including programs on design, public art and urban change sponsored by the Danish, Finnish and Swedish consulates.
The AIANY space will also be home to Åzone Terminal, an interactive, real-time visualization of the Åzone Futures Market, a new Guggenheim project in architecture and digital initiatives. It will allow users to participate in an online simulation of the new types of economies that decentralization is beginning to enable. The concept originated with a symposium of architects, artists and technologists on the spatial effects of emerging decentralized digital technologies, such as Bitcoin, that took place in the Åland Islands off the coast of Helsinki, where the Guggenheim Foundation has proposed a new museum.
- In the AIGA/NY space on Front Street, NY Chapter board members will create an innovative multi-level event space that will host two exhibitions. Looking/Thinking/Making in the City will explore how six of the most innovative New York design studios are influenced by the urban environment, in work for clients ranging from MTV to the Milwaukee Bucks. Making the City will present ways that designers are taking the lead in issues of growth, equity, resilience and sustainability that are crucial to New York’s future.
- On Beekman Street, Eyebeam, the non-profit urban artist colony and R+D lab, will create Eyebeam at the Seaport, a multi-purpose space hosting two exhibitions and a robust calendar of programs. The first, Making Patterns, will feature advanced “computational fashion” projects at the intersection of digital technology and clothing design. Outside/In, a two part exhibition, will present indoor/outdoor installations drawing upon the Seaport’s rich urban and maritime heritage. The first part will feature work by three Eyebeam residents creating new site-specific works - Nancy Nowacek, Torkwase Dyson and Mattia Casalegno.
- In Cannon’s Walk, Art Start, the award-winning organization that uses the creative arts to empower underserved and homeless youth, will partner with world-class photographers, Rosemont Press and the engineering firm, Arup, to host Portrait Project, an outdoor light-and-sound installation in Cannon’s Walk that offers an inspiring glimpse into the dreams and imaginations of Art Start’s teens. Additional partners include Fast Ashleys Studios, Anyway Reps and DCOY Studios.
- In September, the global publisher HarperCollins will celebrate its recent return to Lower Manhattan - where nearly two centuries ago the company first arose on the streets of the Seaport - by introducing the HarperCollins BookLab, an innovative event space and reading lounge with views of historic Schermerhorn Row. Located in Seaport Studios, the BookLab will host various programs, launch events, readings, panels, talks and receptions.
“It is an honor to help bring this new cultural district to life in this very special place,” said James Sanders, AIA, Principal of JS+A Studio. “On the historic blocks of the Seaport - the very blocks where two centuries ago, New York’s great commercial engine first roared to life and the forces of globalization, innovation and diversity first made themselves felt - a new kind of urban crossroads will now emerge, compressing into the space of a few blocks some of the city’s most creative and talented individuals, most engaging cultural conversations and most exciting environments and experiences.”
For additional information on the Seaport Culture District, visit www.southstreetseaport.com, follow the Seaport District on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and use the hashtag #SeaportCulture.
About the Seaport District
The Seaport District is New York City’s oldest new neighborhood on the East River in Lower Manhattan with unparalleled views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and the city’s iconic skyline. The rich history and storied waterfront location make The Seaport District one of New York City’s most unique settings. Travel+Leisure recently named the Seaport as the 22nd most visited tourist attraction in the world. The Seaport District is being revitalized by The Howard Hughes Corporation into a vibrant community with expansive open spaces, a rooftop destination on Pier 17, cultural attractions and a retail environment complete with premier retail brands, restaurants and a locally sourced fresh food market.
About James Sanders, AIA
The Seaport Culture District has been developed under the vision and direction of the noted architect and urbanist James Sanders, AIA, principal of JS+A Studio, whose wide-ranging design, publishing, and media projects include the acclaimed eight-part, 17½-hour PBS series co-written with Ric Burns, New York: A Documentary Film, and a landmark study of the city and film, Celluloid Skyline, hailed by Jane Jacobs as “a marvelous, miraculous book.”
About The Howard Hughes Corporation®
The Howard Hughes Corporation owns, manages and develops commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S. Our properties include master planned communities, operating properties, development opportunities and other unique assets spanning 16 states from New York to Hawai‘i. The Howard Hughes Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC and is headquartered in Dallas, TX. For additional information about HHC, visit www.howardhughes.com.
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