Garment District Artist Talk: Chakaia Booker and Xin Song

On Saturday, October 19 at 4:30pm, join artists Chakaia Booker and Xin Song for a talk about their new public works on view in the Garment District Plazas. The talk will be led by Cheryl Hageman, Deputy Director of MTA Arts & Design.

Chakaia Booker is renowned for her artistic practice that pushes the limits of abstraction through the use of her signature material—discarded rubber tires—and its relation to ecological concerns. Shaved Portions epitomizes Booker’s ability to radically transform this industrial material into an incredible array of biomorphic forms. Repurposed from scraps that would have otherwise remained symbols of urban blight or measures of wanton waste, Shaved Portions is a monumental work that, as the artist describes it, is “about beauty, rhythm, and a common humanity. It is about how we create to connect to one another.”

The installation, New Start, New Hope, created by local artist Xin Song, brings light – both literally and figuratively – to the Broadway plazas in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Xin spent her pandemic days in her studio in the Garment District, depressed by the empty buildings, deserted streets, and closing garment shops. Witnessing the neighborhood’s dramatic decline, and now gradual recovery, Xin Song designed New Start, New Hope to be a beacon for an optimistic future. This series of ornate, illuminated lanterns sparkle above the Garment District warm the night and lift our spirits. The installation features 135 lanterns suspended above three Broadway plazas, with twelve unique designs.

Shaved Portions and New Start, New Hope are on view in the Garment District 24 hours a day.

Saturday Programs:

Chakaia Booker will discuss her piece ‘Shaved Portions’ from 4:30pm-5:00pm. Then, the group will walk down the plazas to between 36-37th street.

Xin Song will discuss her piece ‘New Start New Hope’ from 5:30pm-6:00pm. The talks will be led by Cheryl Hageman, Deputy Director of MTA Arts & Design.