How is Washington Square Park a Creative Hub for Artists in NYC?
Washington Square Park is a hub of cultural vibrancy in New York City. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, the park is a preferred location for locals and tourists alike. The park has a long history that spans over the course of two centuries. Centuries before there was the park we know today, Indigenous people of the Lenape tribe knew the site as a marshy ground and a trout stream, the land was known as Minetta. Post the Revolutionary War, the City Fathers of New York acquired some of the marsh's property to use as a Potter’s Field or public burial ground. After the city experienced multiple epidemics such as influenza and yellow fever, the site became filled and in 1826, the Potter’s Field was declared the Washington Parade Ground. The land was leveled and landscaped and was transformed into a stomping ground for the privileged due to the surrounding real estate.
Throughout history, Washington Square Park has been an epicenter for artists and creativity in New York City. In the early 1900s, the park became a gathering place for a group of writers and poets known as the “Greenwich Village Bohemians”. They were drawn to Greenwich Village for its affordability, diverse population, and thriving art scene. Their work often reflected their counter-cultural values with themes of individualism, rebellion, and non-conformity. This movement helped establish the neighborhood as a hub of creativity and free expression, which attracted artists, writers, and intellectuals from around the world.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the vibrancy of the park continued to foster artistic expression. The park became the heart of the city’s emerging punk and new wave scenes, with musicians and bands often performing on the park’s central plaza. The park’s walls and benches became the canvas for graffiti artists at the time. (pic 2)
Washington Square Park has also been a setting for some of the most important social justice movements throughout history. In the early 20th century, Washington Square Park was the epicenter of workers fighting for better wages and working conditions. After the disastrous, deadly fine in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, thousands walked through the park to mourn the 146 lost lives. They protested to draw attention to the dangerous and oppressive working conditions common for workers in NYC. (Pic 1) On October 3rd, 1915, 25,000 women marched up 5th Avenue and through the park to Advocate for women’s suffrage. Only two years after what was the largest parade at the time, New York State was one of the first to grant women the right to vote.
Throughout the 1950s and 60’s the park became a center for The Civil Rights Movement in NYC. In 1961 Police were ordered to remove ‘the roving troubadours and their followers’ from the park, due to its location in a privileged area. Close to 3,000 ‘Beatniks’ (slang for a person who participated in a social movement) gathered in the park to play music in opposition to this ban. Thus became the Washington Square Park Folk Festival, which brought together musicians, poets, and activists to celebrate folk culture and advocate for racial and social justice. After this extremely peaceful protest commenced, many were arrested, and even more were pushed, shoved, beaten, and asked to vacate. Without these artists and activists, the park we love today would be more akin to Gramercy. (Picture of Newspaper from riot)
Washington square park was the setting for movements for women's rights, labor rights, racial justice, anti-war, anti-nazi, gay rights, and many more throughout history. Leading up to the present day, the 2017 protest against immigration policies, school walkouts protesting gun violence, to just last week a rally for the lynching of Jordan Neely. It was in this park in which so many iconic and talented artists came together to share ideas, perform, and share their artwork. Whether it’s the location, the arch, the fountain, the lush greenery, or if it's just something the in air, Washington Square Park has been and will always be a hub for creativity and change both in New York City and the world.
Freedom Art Collective
Freedom Art Collective, a New York City-based group of young artists show their creativity in this celebrated space. The influential group of artists uses Instagram to showcase their brilliant art ranging from screen prints to jewelry. Their first post to date, May 12th, 2021 exhibits creators, August A.B., Ruby, and Nat displaying their work at Washington Square Park. The caption reads, “First art sale at Washington square park was a huge success!! We’ll be out selling more jewelry, shirts, and art every Saturday!!”. May 2021 was Freedom Art Collective’s first time selling in Washington Square Park, since, they have only expanded in members and creative expression.
Art collective members, Ruby, Anakeesta, Talia, and Ari explained why since 2021 Washington Square Park has been their park of choice to sell their art. An obvious answer, the accessibility Washington Square Park provides to its artists and buyers. Right in the middle of the village, the park provides access to all kinds of people from all over the city. More importantly, collective member and artist, Ruby explains how the accessibility of selling in Washington Square Park is impactful. Unlike most other spaces throughout Manhattan and other boroughs permits are required to sell and oftentimes it is an extensive and tedious process. In Washington Square Park though, Ruby explains, “You don’t need a permit to sell here, you can just pull up your table”. The freeness to come creative and sell is essential as Ruby explains how they were just kids when the collective formed, “well I mean I’m a grown-up now but when we started I was like 17, babies just tryna figure out a way to get our stuff into the world”.
Washington Square Parks permit policy is a key detail to why the park is home to so many creators. The ability to sell as you please and come as you please fosters the growth of artists through the support of park-goers. Without the ability to sell, perform, and create freely, Washington Square Park would be a vastly different place. The park is welcoming Ruby remarks, “There are no tests you have to take to come here”, as other members shout, “No rules”. This is what art and creation are all about, the unrestrained ability to express one’s self.
The collective explains how what started as a group of 5 people has expanded into a family of 10. Member, Ari reflects on their introduction to Freedom Art Collective. Ari sets the stage, they’re sitting in the park, freshly ghosted while the collective is there selling their art. “I thought it looked cool and they were like hey if you wanna sit with us and talk you can. I ended up going to a sleepover party a week later”. Beauty is not only within the collective’s art but the family they have created through it. Ari walked into Washington Square Park that day distressed about their recent ghosting but left as a member of this art collective which has formed into a friendship. The warm and thriving love of art Washington Square Park offers allows for opportunities like this to form among people. When Ari was welcomed into the collective he was not an artist, they had yet to create something to display. Ari, now, shows their art as their fellow members support their creative journey. The support is not only within the collective itself but the community that Washington Square Park has grown. The ambiance of the park is inviting, it is liberating, Ari recognizes the importance of what Washington Square Park exudes, “I definitely touch on the vibes and community of this place. It’s cool, it’s fun, it’s gay”.
The Freedom Art Collective’s table in Washington Square Park is challenging to miss, and why would you want to? It is filled with original pieces from a range of different artists, exploring a range of different styles. Collective member, Anakeesta showcased their art for purchase for the first time. The encouragement and warmth among collective members were uncanny, as they shouted in excitement for them. Not only is encouragement prominent within the group but growth as well. Ari explains how everyone in the art collective is influenced by one another, “sometimes you can see the difference in styles, we all sort of learn off of each other”. Washington Square Park facilitates a space for inclusivity as artists come together and draw inspiration from each other. It also provides artists with an environment to gain recognition for their devoted work from community members.
Washington Square Park invites creative expression, Ruby articulates that the park isn’t a gatekeeper and how that’s important. The park isn’t a guarded space, its arch is open, welcoming artists, furnishing an environment for creativity to blossom. Freedom Art Collective is an astounding group of people who are centered around a community based on self-expression and art. Washington Square Park is a space that bolsters such expression, such expression that Ruby describes as “creative encouragement, we’re forcing these bitches to bring their creative selves forward and expose it to the world because you’ll never know what’ll happen here”.
Washington Square Park Interviews
Article by: Elaina Kagan, Olivia Goerler, Mackenzie Gittelson