WTC Celebrates NYC Pride 2019 with Art Installation
Australian artists Maurice Goldberg and Matthew Aberline designed and created the approximately $20,000 installation that will be on display at the Oculus through June 28 before joining the NYC Pride March.
NEW YORK CITY—The public art installation “Live 4 Love” is at the Oculus, as part of the celebration of World Pride NYC. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a watershed event frequently referenced as launching the gay rights movement.
Australian artists Maurice Goldberg and Matthew Aberline created the 20-foot, colorful artwork to bring to the public a celebration of LGBTQIA+ communities. (The acronym is short for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, intersex or indeterminate, asexual and plus meaning all other sexualities, sexes and genders that are not included in the given letters.)
“What’s most exciting about this new piece is its larger-than-life archway design that invites people to interact with the art itself,” says Goldberg. “I wanted to draw people in and invite them to embrace what pride means to them.”
“Live 4 Love” is an inflatable structure covered with design symbols that represent freedom, inclusion, gender diversity, friendship and adversity. In the evenings, the artwork will be illuminated with internal LED lights. The installation was presented and in the evening with lights aglow on Friday, June 14. It will remain on display at the Oculus until June 28. Segments of the art will also take to the streets, as part of New York City’s Pride March on June 30.
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Silverstein Properties, Westfield World Trade Center and the Alliance for Downtown New York sponsored the installation, which cost approximately $20,000.
“The World Trade Center has always been a worldwide icon, symbolizing the diversity of lifestyles and cultures from around the globe,” says Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton. “That’s why we are proud to join with all of the campus’s stakeholders in focusing on the LGBTQ+ community this month to foster an inclusive environment for all those who visit or work here and those who live around the campus.”
“When we set about rebuilding the World Trade Center, our goal was to create a place full of life and creativity that would reflect who we are as New Yorkers,” says Larry A. Silverstein, chairman, Silverstein Properties.