Four Freedoms Park Conservancy Receives $150 Thousand Grant From NY State Parks For Presenting Temporary Social Justice Public Art Initiatives At The Roosevelt Island Park
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NY Parks) announced March 19:
...22 not-for-profit groups across the state will receive $1.7 million in grants to support the stewardship of state parks, trails, historic sites, and other public lands through the Park and Trail Partnership Grants program. The grants support public private partnerships for maintenance and beautification projects as well as educational programming and special events.
The Park and Trail Partnership Grants program is funded through the state Environmental Protection Fund. Grants are administered in partnership with the not-for-profit advocacy group Parks & Trails New York and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
This tenth round of awards will be matched by more than $500,000 in private funds, exceeding the 10% recipients are required to raise. With record-breaking visitation to state parks and historic sites, these public-private partnerships are invaluable to the increasingly popular public lands and the staff who oversee them.
The Roosevelt Island FDR Four Freedoms Park was one of the groups receiving a grant.
According to NY Parks, Four Freedoms Park Conservancy received:
... ($150,000) for a juried public art commission program that invites artists to create site-specific works that establish a dialogue between the artist's practice, Louis Kahn's architecture, the ideals of the Four Freedoms, and visitors to FDR Four Freedoms State Park.
The Park and Trail Partnership Grant program, administered by @PTNY has awarded $1.7 million to 22 not-for-profit Friends groups across the state! Learn about the projects coming to your community through this program. https://t.co/zRoVDhYN0L pic.twitter.com/rR2wduaYgy
— NY State Parks (@NYstateparks) March 21, 2025
Four Freedoms Park Conservancy Chief Executive Office Howard Axel adds:
Four Freedoms Park Conservancy is honored to receive a $150,000 matching grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s Park and Trail Partnership Grants program, recently announced by the Governor. This support will help us launch and sustain a more formalized annual temporary public art initiative at FDR Four Freedoms State Park.In recent years, we’ve collaborated with artists including Setsuko Winchester, whose Yellow Bowl Project reflected on the fragility of civil liberties; Shaun Leonardo, whose Between Four Freedoms explored the gap between ideals and lived realities; and Mata Ruda, whose large-scale installation addressed themes of immigration and belonging. Each project has invited visitors to reflect on the Four Freedoms President Roosevelt articulated in 1941: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
This grant enables us to build a more articulated and inclusive process for selecting and presenting future works, supporting artists who work at the intersection of social justice and public art to reinforce the Park’s role as a platform for civic dialogue and artistic expression.
Howard Axel, CEO , Four Freedoms Park Conservancy
Here's a reminder of the Yellow Bowl Project installation at Four Freedoms Park
and my 2019 interview at Four Freedoms Park with the artist Setsuko Winchester.
Also, more on the Shaun Leonardo Between Four Freedoms
"Between Four Freedoms" is up for 10 more days! Head to FDR Four Freedoms Park to experience the interactive exhibit! pic.twitter.com/v9GOmDx6Cy
— Four Freedoms Park Conservancy (@4FreedomsPark) November 5, 2021
and Mata Ruda's This Land Is Our Land exhibition.
More info available at the
Roosevelt Island FDR Four Freedoms Park website.
