The Sister City Program supports the efforts of the British Memorial Garden Trust to have the seals of the Cities of New York and London, as well as the seal of the Sister City Program of the City of New York, Inc. engraved on bollards to be constructed at the British Memorial Garden. The British Memorial Garden is located in lower Manhattan and upon completion, will provide a beautiful and quiet location for reflection. In January 2004, the Sister City Program sent a letter of support to Mayor Livingstone’s office in London by means of introducing this project. This project will serve to further underscore the strong relationship New York City has with London. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 10, 2005 at Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan, the future home of the new commemorative garden. The ceremony was attended by officials and representatives from the City of New York and the New York Department of Parks & Recreation.
SCP endorses the efforts of Tamas Revesz to bring his critically-acclaimed photography exhibition, " New York." The Hungarian-American Pulitzer Memorial Prize-winning photographer hopes to bring his photo exhibition to all of New York's Sister Cities. Thomas Revesz is a Hungarian American Pulitzer Memorial Prize winning photographer. The Sister City Program preview the exhibit when a selection of photos was displayed at the New York Mercantile Exchange during the June 2004 Technology Summit. The photos present a new look at New York City - the artist's personal vision of the city's light, shadows, people, steel and concrete, set forth with an oblique and uplifting interpretation.
The "New York" photo exhibition first traveled to Tokyo in the summer of 2004 at the invitation of Asahi Shimbun Newspaper and Asahi TV in Japan. The photo exhibition met with great success and excellent reviews. The Honorable Howard Baker, United States Ambassador to Japan, gave remarks at the opening reception and called the photos "an awesome tribute to America's most famous city."
The "New York" exhibit also opened at the Kogart House in Budapest on March 17, 2006. A record-breaking 800 people attending the opening, which was introduced by Dr. Gabor Demszky, Mayor of Budapest and George H. Walker, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. In a letter of support, NYC Mayor Bloomberg said of the exhibit, "Life in New York City is often a wonderful blur of action and energy. However, in the midst of so much movement, there are an infinite number of discrete moments that are best appreciated on their own, frozen in time. As this exhibition proves, Tamas Revesz has a special gift for recognizing and capturing these telling stories." Thousands had the opportunity to share Revesz's vision in the following weeks, until the exhibit closed in May 2006.
"New York" hopes to travel to Rome in 2007, followed by Madrid, London, Cairo, Johannesburg, Jerusalem, Beijing and Santo Domingo.
Mr. Revesz has more than 60 one-man shows to his credit, and was awarded the HOWARD CHAPNICK Award for photography in 2003 and the PULITZER MEMORIAL Award in 1997 for his book, "Budapest - a City Before the Millennium."
The Sister City Program of the City of New York, Inc. lends its support to the Tevereterno Project. Tevereterno, the vision of Kristin Jones, a New York and Rome based artist, is an international contemporary public art project dedicated to celebrating the Tiber River. The intent of Tevereterno (Eternal Tiber) is to highlight the Tiber River after centuries of neglect. Its mission is to both expose new audiences to large-scale contemporary art in public spaces, and to assist in the development of this unique segment of the Tiber River. Tevereterno is a fusion of art and technology composed of three parts, each embodying elements of the river. The project can be experienced from the sidewalks and bridges above, and from the walkways below, along the riverbanks.
The project is a multi-year sequence of events fusing art and technology to reveal the endless potential of the river within the city and contribute to its revival. On June 21, 2005, Tevereterno presented the first event on the site,
Biondo Tever. This inaugural event was attended by over 4,000 people.>
On June 21, 2006, an all night program of events entitled Ombre dal Lupercale will be presented from dusk to dawn.
The Sister City Program of the City of New York, Inc. was proud to be a part of the “Celebrate South Africa Festival”, a three week series of events that included an exhibition of South African Arts and Crafts, and a food and wine tasting festival at select restaurants located at downtown New York’s famous South Street Seaport. The Celebrate South Africa Festival culminated in a “Freedom Concert,” which took place on September 23, 2003 at Pier 17, located at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport. Maley Ong, the Executive Director of the Sister City Program, presented an official Mayoral proclamation from City Hall to Miller Matola, Portfolio Manager of South African Tourism, in which Mayor Bloomberg declared September 23, 2003 as “Celebrate South Africa Day.” Program support for Johannesburg’s activities provided an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of such Sister City collaboration.
Photo credit: South Africa Tourism, 2003 SCP Executive Director Maley Ong presenting Mayoral Proclamation of “Celebrate South Africa Day” to Miller Mattola, Portfolio Manager, South Africa Tourism.
Photo credit: South Africa Tourism, 2003
SCP Executive Director Maley Ong presenting Mayoral Proclamation of “Celebrate South Africa Day” to Miller Mattola, Portfolio Manager, South Africa Tourism.
Photo credit: South African Tourism, 2003 Traditional South African dancers performing at South Street Seaport
Photo credit: South African Tourism, 2003
Traditional South African dancers performing at South Street Seaport
Photo credit: South African Tourism, 2003 The Art of Nelson Mandela on display as part of Celebrate South Africa Day at the South Street Seaport
Photo credit: South African Tourism, 2003
The Art of Nelson Mandela on display as part of Celebrate South Africa Day at the South Street Seaport
For more information, please visit www.southafrica.net 