2023 Brendan Gill Prize Winner: Charles Gaines for “The American Manifest: Chapter 1.” Times Square, New York NY, presented by Creative Time. © Charles Gaines. Courtesy Times Square Arts. Photo: Michael Hull.
Awarded each year to the creator of a specific work, MAS will present the 2023 Brendan Gill Prize to Gaines for his 2022 public art project The American Manifest: Chapter 1
A night of celebration, conversation, and stunning views of New York Harbor to honor the 2023 Brendan Gill Prize awardee, conceptual artist Charles Gaines, for his 2022 public art project The American Manifest: Chapter 1. As part of the festivities, Gaines and members of the Brendan Gill Prize Jury (Cassim Shepard, Urbanist/Filmmaker/Author, and Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director/CEO, Harlem Stage) will participate in an engaging conversation about the project, his process, and influences. Complimentary refreshments and light bites will be served.
Established in 1987 in honor of Brendan Gill, renowned New Yorker theater and architecture critic and long-time MAS Board Member, The Brendan Gill Prize is given each year to the creator of a specific work — a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film, or choreographic piece — that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City. The prize was established in 1987 in honor of Brendan Gill by a friend and fellow MAS board member Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis along with board members Helen Tucker and Margot Wellington.
Tuesday, September 26 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
The View at the Battery — 1 Battery Place New York, NY 10004
About The American Manifest
Unfolding in three parts the work features both performance and large-scale sculptural works to tell the complicated story of the over 400-year settlement of the United States, focusing on the country’s foundations of colonialism, racial capitalism, democracy, and the legacy of Manifest Destiny. The American Manifest: Chapter 1 opened July of 2022 in Times Square with a live performance of Gaines’s Manifestos 4: The Dred and Harriet Scott Decision and the sculptural installation, Roots.
About The Municipal Art Society of New York
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) lifts up the voices of the people in the debates that shape New York’s built environment and leads the way toward a more livable city from sidewalk to skyline. MAS envisions a future in which all New Yorkers share in the richness of city life—where growth is balanced, character endures, and a resilient future is secured. Over more than 130 years of history, our advocacy efforts have led to the creation of the New York City Planning Commission, Public Design Commission, Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Tribute in Light; the preservation of Grand Central Terminal, the lights of Times Square, and the Garment District; the conservation of more than 50 works of public art; and the founding of such civic organizations as the Public Art Fund, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, P.S. 1, the Historic Districts Council, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, and the Waterfront Alliance.
