What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 7:30pm Tuesday 9am - 7:30pm Wednesday 9am - 7:30pm Thursday 9am - 7:30pm Friday 9am - 7:30pm Saturday 9am - 7:30pm Sunday 9am - 7:30pm

Socrates Sculpture Park

Name: Socrates Sculpture Park
Address: 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, New York, NY, 11106, US
Telephone: (718) 956-1819
Rating: 4.4

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Socrates Sculpture Park

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Always open, always free!
9am-sunset.
(1011)

Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of artist Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents. Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale sculpture and multi-media installations in a unique outdoor environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks and the public. The Park's existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity and improvement of our urban environment.

10/13/2026

Socrates’ new website is here!

Following a major investment to digitize our 40-year archive, Socrates Sculpture Park’s history is now more accessible than ever through our newly redesigned website.

Designed by KUDOS, the new site marks an important milestone in our commitment to preserving and sharing a vital part of Queens history. For the first time, our community can explore four decades of Socrates from the inside out, searching an expansive archive by year, exhibition, artist, and theme.

The website brings this history into conversation with Socrates today, from our ongoing Oral History Project with community members and alumni artists to The Point, a new initiative at the Park’s southern tip that will connect visitors more deeply with Socrates’ layered history. Together, these projects offer new ways to encounter Socrates’ legacy of artistic experimentation, land stewardship, and collective memory.

Visit the link in our bio to explore the archive!

10/07/2026

Join Flamenco Latino and Flamenco Vivo this Sunday, October 11, for an immersive dance experience at Socrates ✨

Experience New York’s rich flamenco tradition through a multigenerational cast of local Queens students, rising dancers, and longtime leaders in the flamenco community. Through performance and participation, audiences will explore the artists and elders who helped shape flamenco in New York City.

🔗 Link in bio to Register!

10/06/2026

📅 Mark your calendar! Cinema Kids is coming back this week with ¡HOLA CINE!

In partnership with Château Le Woof and the New York International Children’s Film Festival, Socrates brings the magic of film to families and young audiences.

¡HOLA CINE! celebrates Latinx stories from across the Americas through a collection of short films exploring family, perseverance, imagination, and a little bit of magic.

On the mornings of our Cinema evenings, families are invited to Château Le Woof for a special series of children’s short films, creating more opportunities for audiences of all ages to experience film together at Socrates.

🎬 Screening details:
Saturday Sept. 26, 2026
Morning: 11 am – 1 pm | ¡HOLA CINE! at Chateau Le Woof
Evening: 6-10pm | Jean Michel Basquiat on the Park's lawn

🔗 Link in bio to RSVP!

09/30/2026

This Saturday, Socrates Sculpture Park and come together for the second night of Outdoor Cinema, featuring Jean-Michel Basquiat, the new documentary offering a demystified look at Basquiat’s legacy through untold memories from his family, never-before-seen works, and rare archival imagery.

Before the screening, serpentwithfeet will perform an ambient set drawing on the sounds and creative energy of downtown New York. We are thrilled to be able to screen serpent's recent video "sentinel" in collaboration with .

Basquiat’s life and work embody a distinctly New York spirit of experimentation, cultural exchange, and creative possibility. That spirit is central to Outdoor Cinema at Socrates, where film, food, and music create space to gather around the cultures, histories, and creative communities that shape New York.

Get ready for a night of cinema under the stars! ✨

🎬 Program details:
🎵 Pre-screening DJ set by
🎥 Film: Jean-Michel Basquiat, directed by Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman

🔗 For more details and to RSVP, click the link in our bio!

09/25/2026

🌧️ Screenings postponed due to inclement weather 🌧️

Due to inclement weather this Saturday, we are postponing our Outdoor Cinema programs. Don’t worry the movies are still on! See below for the new dates:

🎬 Film program: Jean-Michel Basquiat, directed by Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana
New date: Saturday, October, 3rd | 6 - 10 pm
🍴 Food by: Nao's Carribbean Flavors

🎬 Film program: ¡HOLA CINE! at Chateau Le Woof
New date: Saturday, October, 10th | 11 am – 1 pm at Chateau Le Woof ✨

🔗Visit the link in our bio for more information.

09/24/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Performaxxing: Trio Under the Triboro and brought such vibrant, open energy to the Park. Your curiosity, presence, and willingness to participate made this full day of performance all the more resonant.

Presented in partnership with Franklin Furnace and Materials for the Arts, Performaxxing celebrated the enduring experimental legacies of three New York institutions committed to supporting artistic innovation, and radical imagination.

From kara lynch’s opening invitation into collective grief to Crackhead Barney’s roaming immigration-processing system performance, the program moved through lament, satire, play, endurance, and release, offering a full range of emotions.

Special thanks to curator Francheska Alcántara
artists kara lynch, and our partners Franklin Furnace and Materials for the Arts.

Here’s to experimentation, collective witnessing, and

Photos by

09/23/2026

Earlier this month, Outdoor Cinema made its return to Socrates!

From the animated journey of Bouchra and Moroccan flavors to a live set from Bergsonist, it was an evening of film, food, music, and community on the waterfront. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped welcome back this beloved Socrates tradition.

A special thank you to the generous supporters who made the return of Outdoor Cinema possible. Because of you, we’re able to create moments like these that bring neighbors together and celebrate the cultures, stories, and communities that make Queens so special.

And we’re not done yet. Outdoor Cinema returns this Saturday for the second night of our 2026 pilot program!

Coming up this Saturday:

📅 Saturday, September 26 | 6– 10pm
🎬 Film: Jean Michel Basquiat

The evening’s food program will feature Haitian cuisine, reflecting Basquiat’s Caribbean roots and representing a piece of the cultural histories that shaped his life and work.

Visit the link in our bio for more info!

09/17/2026

This Saturday, Sept 19, join us for Performaxxing, 🎭 a full-day performance art festival running from 12-5pm.

Curated by Francheska Alcántara (), and co-presented with Franklin Furnace and Materials for the Arts this event celebrates each organization's milestone year — Socrates Sculpture Park's 40th anniversary and Materials for the Arts' and Franklin Furnace’s 50th anniversary, all under the theme Trio Under the Triboro.

Here is what to expect:

✨Program Highlights ✨

12:00 PM: Doors open.

Durational performances begin:
- kara lynch
- Crackhead Barney
Note: This piece contains nudity. View at your own discretion. No photography allowed.

12:20 PM: zavé martohardjono

1:00 PM: Coco Villa

1:40 PM: Sandy Williams IV

2:15 PM: Jake Brush with Candystore and Mike Feswick

3:00 PM: Coco Villa (Encore)

3:15 PM: Itala Aguilera
Note: This piece contains nudity. View at your own discretion. No photography allowed.

4:05 PM: Reed Rushes
Note: This piece contains nudity. View at your own discretion. No photography allowed.

4:15 PM: Madre Guía

🛠️ Bonus Workshop: Don't forget to stop by Materials for the Arts’ Pop up Reuse Art Booth where participants will make their own art projects with bits of old technology and other found materials from NYC’s premier re-use facility.

Come for the art and stay for the community. We can't wait to see you there!

🔗 Link in bio to RSVP!

09/08/2026

On Saturday, September 12 (3-5pm), MexFest returns to Socrates for Release, Repair and Imprint.

Through participatory installation with bioplastics, participants will collaboratively create a sculpture inspired by nature while reflecting on their relationship with the Earth, sustainability, and the qualities of nature each person brings to the shared work. This program will be facilitated in both English and Spanish.

All ages welcome. This program will be facilitated in both English and Spanish.
Free with RSVP. Link in bio 🔗

Address

32-01 Vernon Boulevard
New York, NY
11106

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 7:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 7:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 7:30pm
Thursday	9am - 7:30pm
Friday	9am - 7:30pm
Saturday	9am - 7:30pm
Sunday	9am - 7:30pm

Telephone

(718) 956-1819

Website

http://socratessculpturepark.org/

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