Cityactivators + Partyactivators

03/24/2020

Michelle Goldberg wrote in The NY Times that to live in New York “is to trade private space for public space. It’s to depend on interdependence.” As a designer and producer of public celebrations, l value the sense of freedom, trust and pleasure we have sharing a space with people we don’t know but are connected to by experiencing public space together at a particular occasion. In fact, the sense that public space is there for all of us all of the time is embedded in our consciousness and essential to our individual and social rituals of city living. To have our gathering places locked down is a shock to the system no matter what neighborhood or social class we inhabit. No wonder people are crowding into the parks. The Governor is calling for more open space. The Mayor wants more supervision. Our assumptions about how we use our city are being questioned, but new ones are being invented such this grab and go cocktail window! I

01/03/2020

LuminoCity festival, installed on Randall’s Island for the holiday season, is a 12 acre fantasyland of illuminated lanterns. The imaginative and beautifully sculpted forms are made of steel wire covered with handpainted fabric and lit by 10,000 LED bulbs. I enjoyed its overall design and scale as well as the variety of images. Now in its first year, LuminoCity was cofounded by 29-year-old Pratt graduate, Xiaoyi Chen, inspired by the ancient festival tradition of her hometown Zigong. @ Randall's Island NYC

12/24/2019

A delightful holiday walkabout in Center City Philadelphia, my hometown. A Christmas market surrounding City Hall, a carousel in the courtyard, Philly pretzels in the shape of candy canes, reindeer topiaries, and a sixty second flight up the glass elevator to the Four Season Hotel bar, high glamour even on a cloudy day. @ Philadelphia City Hall

12/08/2019

Two magnificent art experiences in one day - an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of photos, video, and installations by international artist JR and the movie Queen and Slim written by Lena Waithe, ending with a giant photo pasted to a wall that could have been an artwork by JR. @ Brooklyn Museum

11/18/2019

A walk in Central Park - street performers near Bethesda Fountain and lovers on the Beau Bridge. @ Central Park

09/09/2019

Oh no more scaffolding was my first reaction to Horama Rama, the installation at PS1 created by Mexican Architectural firm Pedro & Juana. As a NYC resident I am exhausted by the 280 miles of scaffolding scarring our beautiful city. But they used it effectively to link all the courtyards and bring attention to the new real estate development surrounding the Museum. Images of the jungle and it’s inhabitants printed on scrim disappeared against the sky, resonating tragically with the disappearing Amazon forests. &Juana @ MoMA PS1

09/02/2019

This lemon pudding is the best dessert ever - thank you Jean-Georges, but you don’t have to dine at The Fulton to luxuriate in the waterfront view at Pier 17. Fulton space @ Pier 17

09/02/2019

One of my favorite places in the brilliantly activated Brooklyn Bridge Park is the water playground. This little girl’s father appeared to know only the word “NO” which he repeated incessantly as she continued to grin, play, and get totally soaked. @ Brooklyn Bridge Park

02/15/2018

Halloween party by Karin Bacon

Halloween party organized by Karin Bacon at the Public Hotel Tuesday October 31, 2017, in New York City.Karl Rabe Photo

On Halloween 2017, Public Arts, the nightclub at Public, Ian Schrager’s new
boutique hotel, became “Public Asylum” for a wild and crazy party. To ensure
that the party had the imagination and finesse of the parties that Ian staged at
Studio 54 during its heyday, he enlisted two of the original team, Karin Bacon to
do the live entertainment and Mark Ravitz to design the environment.

09/20/2017

City Activators stages City Center DC's Grand Celebration in a tent in downtown Washington DC

09/20/2017

09/20/2017

In order to reinvigorate its image as a premier fashion retailer and celebrate the renovation of its flagship Fifth Avenue location, Lord & Taylor wanted to create a splash with its reopening party. To help the company determine its approach to this critical occasion, LWP, a prominent fashion-marketing firm, hired PartyActivators to provide creative concepts and production ex*****on for the event. PartyActivators came up with a theme that carried through all seven floors of the location based on Lord & Taylor's rose motif. The event as a great success and PartyActivators continues to collaborate with the project's partners.