Silvermine Arts Center will be offering three special walking art and architecture tours this fall in New York City. Providing unique perspectives focusing on the diverse sacred spaces of the City and the historic squares located downtown, the tours, presented by the Institute of Visual Artists, a forum for artists and art lovers first established in 1984, will be led by Anne Bolin, Ph.D, a specialist in 19th-Century art and culture.
What makes a space sacred? How can architecture encourage and enhance a spiritual experience? With its exceptional and compact array of diverse spiritual spaces, New York City offers an extraordinary opportunity to explore these questions. The tour will visit some of the City’s famous and lesser known – but equally affecting – spiritual venues. There will be discussions on the social history of each spot on the tour, with the primary focus on how each religion/philosophy has designed its space to tap into our senses and create a theater for profound experience. There are two sections to this tour, with the first tour on Wednesday, September 25 and the second part on Wednesday, October 16. Both tours are from 10AM to 1PM. Participants can select one or both.
The first of the Sacred Spaces tour will include some of the City’s largest and most noted places of worship. The tour will begin with St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York’s prime example of traditional church design. This mid-19th century masterpiece by James Renwick is currently undergoing a major restoration, making this an ideal time to explore the challenges of maintaining an urban sacred space. Other stops will include the superb St. Thomas Church with its incredible stone work and the strikingly different, though equally beautiful, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Along the way, some of the quiet public spaces that have been carved out of busy midtown as places for rest and contemplation will be visited. The tour will conclude with a visit to two of New York’s architectural gems: the Moorish Revival Central Synagogue and International Style St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, featuring a chapel interior by sculptor Louise Nevelson.
The second of Sacred Spaces tour will take in some of New York’s relatively unknown traditional churches and some non-traditional venues for spiritual experiences. The tour will begin with the impressive yet often overlooked church of St. Paul the Apostle and continue along Central Park West visiting sanctuaries housing a broad range of faiths including: New York’s Society for Ethical Culture, Holy Trinity Lutheran and the First Church of Christ Scientist. Along the way, stops will be made at a variety of peaceful spaces that have been created for public enjoyment and reflection, culminating with Central Park’s serene Strawberry Fields and its Imagine memorial to John Lennon.
A Square Triangle: Washington, Union and Madison Squares will be on Wednesday, October 30, also beginning at 10 a.m. On this tour, you will visit three of the prettiest and most historic spots in the City, each with its own distinct personality. In the midst of Greenwich Village and NYU, Washington Square, with its beautiful fountain and grand triumphal arch designed by Stanford White, is bordered by an eclectic assortment of architecturally significant public and private spaces. It also boasts some of the best street performers in the City! Union Square with its famous equestrian statue of George Washington and the lively Greenmarket, is the busiest square and features the most sculpture. The serene, seven-acre Madison Square, which sits amid such architectural gems as the Flatiron Building and the Metropolitan Life Insurance building, is a peaceful oasis with gently curving walkways lined with inviting, tree-shaded park benches. The tour will focus on the history, art and architecture of this fascinating part of the city which was central to the cultural, social and business life of 19th century New York. All three parks have been beautifully refurbished, making them the striking and refreshing destinations they were intended to be. En route from park to park, you will also visit such venerated New York City art venues as the Salmagundi Club, one of the oldest art organizations in the U.S., founded in 1871, and the former Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Studio, which doubled as the original Whitney Museum of American Art. For those who want to take advantage of their Wednesday in the City with a Broadway Matinee, the tour will conclude at 1 p.m. just a few blocks south of Times Square.
Tour guide, Anne Bolin, is a specialist in 19th -Century art and culture. Former educator for the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, and curator of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk, she currently teaches art history at Sacred Heart University. She received her BA in History from the University of North Carolina, her MA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. in Art History from Emory University. Ms. Bolin has also published papers on 19th-century art and architecture.
In advance of each tour, students will be notified by email from the tour guide with the exact meeting location. Space is limited and participants need to register in advance by calling the Silvermine Arts Center at 203-966-9700 ext. 22. Tours are $50 per person per tour.
For more information about the walking tours and other exciting upcoming events at the Silvermine Arts Center, visit our website at www.silvermineart.org.