"Here" by Santi Flores

The city of New York, home to people from hundreds of different countries and cultures, takes great pride in its diversity. The Garment District, a neighborhood in midtown Manhattan, is currently home to an art installation celebrating the unique “unity, diversity, and individuality” of “New Yorkers and visitors passing through” the city. Called “Here,” the installation consists of fourteen figures standing in the pedestrian plaza with hands raised high in the air, “as if to say ‘Here we are. We are moving forward together.’” The installation is by Spanish artist Santi Flores, who created each figure out of steel and painted them with unique designs and patterns on their “skin.” The larger-than life figures are a whimsical tribute to New York and the people who live in and visit the city.

Passage in the Garment District

A new art installation is lighting up the Garment District! The interactive piece, called “Passage,” consists of twenty glowing rings that react with swirling color and sound as people pass through them. The artist, Serge Maheu, has a background in engineering, and is adept at creating artworks that use his technical skills in creative ways. This work was conceived as a meditation on the idea of transition and change, drawing on ideas of “passage in reference to the enigmatic moment between life and death.” Sponsored by the Québec Government Office in New York, the installation will only be in place for a few weeks, but in that time, it will bring color and fun to the chilly nights in midtown.

Candy Nation

Candy Nation by French sculptor Laurence Jenkell is a series of oversized candies displaying flags of different countries. First exhibited for the G20 Summit in Cannes, France in 2011, Candy Nation is now installed on the Garment District malls on Broadway between 36th and 39th Street as part of Garment District Alliance’s 15th Annual Arts Festival that runs from October 18th to 20th. The nine-foot tall sculptures each weigh 1,450 pounds and are wrapped in polyester resin. Flag featured in the series are from such countries as the US, European Union (plus member countries Germany, France, and Italy), Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and many others. Barbara A. Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance, says: “Through her remarkable exhibit, Laurence Jenkell leverages both simple and universal imagery to remind New Yorkers of our global character, right at a moment when such reminders are so timely and valuable.”