
FIGMENT is a completely free annual festival of participatory art and culture taking place in multiple cities across the globe. FIGMENT’s annual event began in New York on Governors Island in 2007. At the time that FIGMENT began, Governors Island was a new public venue that had recently (2003) been turned over from the Federal Government to New York City, with a very specific set of restrictions: there could be no permanent housing on the island, no casinos for 50 years, and significant portions of the island had to be used for educational and cultural purposes. Governors Island is located 800 yards from the southern tip of Manhattan Island. For almost two centuries, Governors Island was a military base. In 2003 the federal government sold 150 acres of Island to the people of New York. You can read about the island in one of my posts .
Staring from 2007 each summer, FIGMENT NYC transforms
Governors Island into a large-scale collaborative artwork. FIGMENT
is an annual arts event with artwork in every medium, from installation to
performance to music to games and many things in between . For one weekend each summer FIGMENT transforms
Governors Island into a large-scale collaborative artwork - and then it's gone.

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Billion Oysters |
There are two big installations on the Parade Grounds. One
is the Billion Oyster Pavilion by the
Long Island City, which partners with the Governors Island Alliance to restore
one billion live oysters to the New York Harbor. The pavilion’s woven canopy is
made of steel rebar, nylon rope, and hose clamps.
Another is The Organic Growth Pavilion, inspired by flowers that can actively respond
to the natural environment—like hydrangeas. To replicate that type of
responsiveness, artists uses broken
objects like umbrellas, stools, and bicycle wheels and crafts them into
flower-like structures. As with the Billion Oyster Pavilion, the materials used
in Organic Growth can be reused after the pavilion is dismantled.
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Organic Growth |
The designers envision the broken umbrellas
and larger elements from the pavilion as sun and shade protection devices for
public spaces in New York or as decorative chandeliers.
There are several projects
this year that I really like. One of them is imaginary Japanese game show where you dress
up and battle in kiddy pools with super soaked plush toys. Another one is The
Love Yourself Project .
Project leaders believe that
with a strong relationship to the self, every individual can contribute to a
future with loving regard for all living beings and the environment.
There is a tent with
free carnival costumes for kids and adults and a lot of activity for kids. There is also a place
where you can experience some music from an actual Thomas Edison Cylinder
phonograph from over 100 years ago. 
Governors Island is open every day from May 23 – September
27 from 10AM to 6PM on weekdays and from
10 AM to 7 PM on weekends. Ferries to the island run from Lower Manhattan every day and run
from Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 on Saturdays, Sundays, Memorial Day and
Labor Day.
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