CANstruction 2011: Sculptures Made From Canned Food at the World Financial Center

"Suspending Hunger" by Skanska USA

"NepTUNA the HippoCANpus Against Hunger" by Gilsanz Murray Steficek LLP

"High-Tops for Hunger" by Thornton Tomasetti

"Hungry Birds" by Ennead Architects

"STOP Hunger START Sharing" by CetraRuddy

"Root Against Hunger" by Dattner Architects

"Strike Out Hunger" by Eleanor Roosevelt High School/Sandra Forman Architect

"Giving Hunger the Boot" by GACE Consulting Engineers

"TiCANic" by Robert Silman Associates

Canstruction, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that holds canned food drive to benefit local food banks, as well as annual design and build competitions to construct sculptures made entirely out of canned food. In each city after the structures are built and the winners declared the creations go on view to the general public as giant art exhibits. In New York City, the exhibit is being held at the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site. Pictured above are just some of the 26 creative structures built from canned food now on display through November 21. At the end of the competitions all of the food used in the structures will be donated to the local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs.

World Premiere of STREB's "Human Fountain" Makes A Splash At World Financial Center Plaza In Downtown Manhattan

Elizabeth Streb

Earlier this evening, the world premiere of STREB’s “Human Fountain” took place at the World Financial Center Plaza in downtown Manhattan as part of “Extraordinary Moves: A Celebration of Dance through Movement, Film and Art.” This fantastic outdoor performance art involves artists leaping from as high as 30 feet from a three-story structure in order to create cascades of airborne bodies, like a human fountain. This work was inspired by the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. The free performances will be repeated on Friday July 15 at 12:00 noon and 6:00 PM, and on Saturday, July 16 at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 PM at the World Financial Center.

Dance Review from the New York Times (Gia Kourlas):

The main attraction is Elizabeth Streb’s new “Human Fountain,” inspired by the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, and it doesn’t disappoint. Ms. Streb is a rare choreographer whose work looks amazing outside: in “Human Fountain” the juxtaposition of sky, steel and flesh add up to a breathtaking convergence of materials. The dancers take their spots on a three-tiered structure — it rises 30 feet — designed by Ms. Streb and Hudson Scenic Studio. Dropping like logs, they fall horizontally through the air and land on thick mats to mimic the speed and frequency of shooting water. It seems inconceivable, but with lightness and force, the dancers show the distinction between a graceful arc and a harsh, humorous spurt. For the company, which operates with military precision, getting to the right spot on time might be even more harrowing than jumping. (You can even sense the performers’ brief flash of trepidation.) Watching “Human Fountain” is to live a little vicariously, but even better, the piece is about what you see in a delicate split second: the point at which danger and beauty hang in the air.

PORTRAITS OF "WISDOM": A Photography Exhibit by ANDREW ZUCKERMAN

One of the greatest gifts that one generation can pass to another is its collective wisdom. This idea is the inspiration to the multifaceted exhibit by photographer and filmmaker, ANDREW ZUCKERMAN at the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center (April 29 through May 23). The exhibit includes portraits, a book and short film featuring some of the world's most iconic figures over the age of 65 who have made their mark on the world. Large format portraits of famous elders from the world of politics, science, sports, and the arts, including Madeleine Albright, Ravi Shankar, Billie Jean King, Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall, Clint Eastwood, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Redford and Chinua Achebe,

Rod Tyron and Anthony Capetto's Chalk Painting, "KOI POND" At The Winter Garden

One of Battery Park City's EARTH DAY events is a display of street painters/artists ROD TYRON and ANTHONY CAPPETTO's latest creation, "KOI POND." It is a life-like, three-dimensional work of art using chalk pastels on display at the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center from April 20-23.

Site-Specific, Panoramic Staging of HAMLET at the World Financial Center

The New York Classical Theatre and Arts<World Financial Center co-present a unique staging of HAMLET Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare at the World Financial Center Complex in downtown Manhattan. The play was designed in such a way that audience members follow the actors from place to place throughout the sprawling World Financial Center, the set for the production. The play is directed by New York Classical Theatre’s founder and artistic director Stephen Burdman. Justin Blanchard plays the title role. The play runs through April 18 only. Audience meets outside of Starbucks, WFC Courtyard, 220 Vesey Street.