A Garden for Juan Pablo Duarte Square in New York City

A new temporary community garden designed by Spanish artist Juanli Carrion, will sprout in the Juan Pablo Duarte Square this May (2014) -- the statue of Juan Pablo Duarte was donated by the Consulate of the Dominican Republic -- dedicated in the square on the 165th anniversary of Duarte’s birth, January 26, 1978 .

Called the Outer Seed Shadow, the project will be a 2,000-square-foot garden (shaped like the island of Manhattan), which will feature plants chosen by immigrants from different parts of the city.

OSS#01 materializes the union between plant and human migration tendencies and theories, using different plant species as representatives of social groups. OSS#01 is a community garden informed by geography, a document of the migrant experience through video interviews and self-identified plants, a study of social interaction and the politics of immigration illustrated by plants, and an aesthetic exercise exploring the appropriation of the scientific for sociological study.

Artist rendition of the Outer Seed Shadow project

The best part of the Outer Seed Shadow project - both for the community and the park itself:

OSS#01 will also activate Duarte Square, which is currently an underutilized public park. Expecting over 100,000 visitors, OSS#01 will draw residents living across Manhattan and from all over NYC to what is both a community garden and educational center, designed to transform the current barren plaza into an open green space and hub for community discussion and art making.

Visit outerseedshadow.org for more information or to support the project with a donation.

A $5 to $10 donation gets you "Your name imprinted on a sign at OSS#01 during the exhibition."