THE GREEN

New York’s Lincoln Center is Going Green….

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, is being reimagined by celebrated set designer and MacArthur Genius grantee, Mimi Len. The 14,000 square feet of open, concrete plaza, will be transformed into “The GREEN”, a new environment that will invite New Yorkers to relax and enjoy an open, park-like space.

“When invited to consider how the physical space of Josie Robertson Plaza could be re-envisioned to be a more inclusive and inviting environment, I immediately thought that by changing the ground surface from hard paving stones with no seating to a material like grass, suddenly anyone would be able to sit anywhere,” said Mimi Lien.

“The GREEN” will also be sustainable and will be constructed of recyclable, biobased SYNLawn, provided by SYNLawn New York. The grass-like material has a high soy content, fully sourced from U.S. farmers.

The new installation will be the physical centerpiece of Restart Stages, Lincoln Center’s initiative to help kickstart the arts sector and New York City’s revival.

Lien continued, “In the past, Josie Robertson Plaza has been a space that you walk through in order to see a performance, to get to the Library, or even to admire the fountain for a bit, but I dreamt of making it a space of inhabitation, of pleasure, and of rest. I wanted to make a place where you could lie on a grassy slope and read a book all afternoon. Get a coffee and sit in the sun. Bring your babies and frolic in the grass. Have a picnic lunch with co-workers. I hope that this curved grass surface will feel like an embrace and an expanse at the same time, and will reimagine the Plaza as a site of social infrastructure, like a town green – a place to gather, a common ground.”

"The arts can be the centerpiece of New York's economic, social, and spiritual revival—a powerful vehicle to reconnect as we enter the spring season,” said Henry Timms, President & CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “We’re thrilled to launch ‘The GREEN,’ a space for New Yorkers to re-energize, and find inspiration and uplift. We’re very grateful to Mimi Lien, our partners across Lincoln Center, and everyone across the city helping build this Restart Stages vision.”