This year marks the 20th anniversary of the idea of the High Line, and the 10th Anniversary of its first section opening to the public. Since its inception as street-level freight trains in the mid-1800s, all the way to its current use as green public space, the High Line and its surrounding areas have seen great transitions and transformations in every part of civic life. Today, the neighborhood continues to be in flux, alongside a changing city, country, and globe.

To commemorate our anniversary, artists Salome Asega and Keenan MacWilliam, Alicia Grullon, Ronny Quevedo, Tattfoo Tan, and Betty Yu will mount participatory art projects and performances throughout the afternoon at various locations on the High Line. Starting with the provocation, “what will the High Line and the surrounding area look like in 100 years?” Neighbors and visitors are invited to imagine our collective futures from vast and varied vantage points, such as the environment, data collection and technology, housing, urban planning, immigration, intimacy, power, collectivity, and more.

See below for a full schedule and list of program locations. 

New Earth Ceremony
Tattfoo Tan
1 –3pm
26th Street Viewing Spur, on the High Line at 26th Street
The environmental challenges of the 21st century require individuals who understand environmental, scientific, and spiritual complexities and can implement a multi-disciplinary approach to environmental problem-solving at personal, local, regional and global scales. In this two-hour workshop, artist Tattfoo Tan uses participatory prompts, games, and affirmations to teach an ethos of self-reliance, playfulness, and of living closer to the earth. Tan asks: How can we connect with nature in a society that gives primacy to disposability and mass-consumption? How do we move away from a mindset of scarcity and individualism to one of collaboration? How can we transform from the egocentric “i” into the love supreme “I AM”?
This workshop is limited to 20 people. If you’d like to participate, please choose the RSVP – New Earth Ceremony Workshop Participation ticket at checkout. Participants are asked to bring a personal memento to introduce themselves with. 

Chelsea and Her stories: A Walking Tour
Alicia Grullon
2 – 3pm
Tour begins on the High Line at 30th Street and 10th Avenue, in front of the elevator
Part storytelling, part staged performance, artist Alicia Grullon will re-enact stories shared with her by local residents at Hudson Guild. These stories formed the basis of In/With Chelsea, her ongoing project for the High Line on 26th Street.

Vega as North Star (El Norte es Sur)
Ronny Quevedo and Stacy Spence
3 – 4pm
23rd Street Lawn, on the High Line at 23rd Street
Ronny Quevedo marcará el césped, evocando juegos e invitando a jugar. Influenciado por la restauración de la estrella Vega como nuestra Estrella del Norte en 12,000 años y observatorio arquitectónico andino, las marcas sugieren cómo las fronteras, los campos de juego y las constelaciones se desarrollarán en los próximos 100 años o más. Stacy Spence interactuará con el césped a través de movimientos e improvisaciones para afectar el entorno y el dibujo. La colaboración de Quevedo y Spence prevé una interacción con lo terrestre, qué traemos actualmente a un lugar y qué cambios llevaremos al futuro. Los participantes y miembros de la audiencia serán invitados a ser testigos presenciales y jugar en el césped después del performance.

Labor Stories Workshop
Betty Yu
3 – 4pm
23rd Street Lawn, on the High Line at 23rd Street
Betty Yu captures stories of “work”— broadly defined as paid and unpaid, past and present, blue collar and white collar. Participants will reflect on the under-recognized, unpaid work that they do and will speculate on the future of labor. This workshop builds on Betty’s ongoing project for the High Line, In/With Chelsea, in which she highlights the stories of work and labor in and around the surrounding neighborhood from the 1980s to today.

Hey Mary!
Salome Asega and Keenan MacWilliam
4–5pm
On the Spur, at 30th Street & 10th Avenue
An afternoon of hand clapping performances and a demo that speculates on the future of the High Line and neighboring Hudson Yards. In partnership with young step dancers, Asega and MacWilliam restyle classic hand clapping games to parse through the dimensions of public space and the different ways young people move through them. This is a performance about boldly taking up space.