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The iconic sculptures along the High Line have become a staple of New York City’s art scene, and the city is about to put up some new ones—but not without getting New Yorkers’ input first.
The High Line just announced 12 shortlisted artists whittled from a list of 56 to showcase their sculptures on the High Line. Starting next Tuesday, March 19 through June, you’ll be able to see scaled-down models of the 12 finalists, so you can help decide which two deserve to be built in full scale and take over the coveted spot. See them at the High Line, where you'll find QR codes to share your comments.
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The models will be one-sixteenth of what the real sculptures will end up looking like if they’re selected. Once the finalists are chosen, they’ll be going up at The High Line in the spring of 2026 and fall of 2027 on the Plinth, the High Line’s largest stage for art commissions located on 30th Street and 10th Avenue.
The finalists were nominated by an international committee of artists, curators and arts professionals brought together by The High Line. The finalists are Dana Awartani, Leilah Babirye, Natalie Ball, Sammy Baloji, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Rachel Feinstein, Camille Henrot, Mire Lee, Candice Lin, Emeka Ogboh, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and Gala Porras-Kim. You should go in person to see what the models look like to fully appreciate the materials and textures. But until then, here are some of our favorite finalists.
Dana Awartani (born 1987, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia): An Ode to Our Ancestors
This is a 12-pointed stone sculpture inspired by sacred geometry. The sculpture specifically takes inspiration from six-fold symmetry, which is ever-present in nature—from living tissue cells to flowers and snowflakes.
Leilah Babirye (born 1985, Kampala, Uganda): Agali Awamu (Togetherness)
A tall cast bronze sculpture featuring two genderless faces connected through intricate, interwoven rubber braids. The Lugandan phrase “agali awamu” alludes to “togetherness,” but the term also encompasses the communal spirit of uniting in solidarity and looking out for one another.
Sammy Baloji (born 1978, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo): Listen Closely: You’ll Hear Their Feet Beating Out And Beating Out
This is an oversized horn that references the musical histories of the American South. In the 1730s, “free mulattos, blacks, and Native Americans” were required to serve in the military, but as drummers and trumpeters, were forbidden to bear arms due to fears of uprisings.
Mire Lee (born 1988, Seoul, South Korea) - The Leaking Machine
This resembles a metallic silver chandelier or a dreamcatcher topped with multiple “ribs” that hold water hoses that endlessly leak. “Rain chains” are hung from the leakage points of the hoses, covered with palm-sized objects gathered from the surrounding community.
Tuan Andrew Nguyen (born 1976, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): The Light that Shines Through the Universe
A sandstone homage to the Bamiyan Buddhas, two 6th-century monumental statues in central Afghanistan that were destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban. Nguyen symbolically casts the Buddha’s hands, missing from the original monuments long before their final destruction, from brass artillery shells.