Last Thursday, MAS proudly presented the 22nd Brendan Gill Prize to artists Mike and Doug Starn for See it split, see it change, their site-specific permanent art installation at the South Ferry subway terminal in Lower Manhattan. Commissioned by the MTA Arts for Transit Program, See it split, see it change was completed in December 2008 to wide praise.

The Brendan Gill Prize is named for the long-time MAS trustee, renowned New Yorker theater critic, author, and architectural preservationist. The cash prize, funded by a permanent endowment, is awarded annually to the creator of a work of art, book, sculpture, film, musical composition, or architectural design, accomplished the previous year, that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City. It was established in 1986 by MAS board members Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helen S. Tucker and Margot Wellington. Continue Reading>>

MAS started out the month with the opening of the exhibit Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil on October 1. It is co-sponsored by PennDesign and on view in our galleries through December 4, 2009. Click here for more information about MAS exhibits, including gallery hours.

MAS was proud to present Robert A.M. Stern and Peter Malkin with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal on October 26, MAS’ annual award given to individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary impact on the quality of New York’s built environment. For more information on this year’s honorees, click here.

Our President, Vin Cipolla spoke at a Save America’s Treasures event on October 21, to benefit Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in upstate New York. Vin was also the guest speaker at the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s annual Architectural Preservation Awards on October 22, where he spoke on the architectural character of Murray Hill and the importance of preservation. Continue Reading>>

Last Saturday, at an award reception at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens received the 2008 Brendan Gill Prize from MAS for his multimedia musical composition The BQE. Mr. Stevens’ “symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” was selected by the Brendan Gill jury for “capturing the energy, vigor, and verve of our incomparable city.”

Above is a brief slideshow of the evening, attended by MAS members and patrons. To join the Municipal Art Society, click here.

Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens will receive the Municipal Art Society’s 2008 Brendan Gill Prize this Saturday, September 27, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for his multi-media musical composition, The BQE. His “symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” was selected by the Brendan Gill jury for “capturing the energy, vigor, and verve of our incomparable city.” We are thrilled to invite MAS Members to join us this Saturday and meet Mr. Stevens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

MAS members (and a guest) are invited to join us for the Brendan Gill Prize Ceremony (7:00 p.m.) at BAM and the private reception afterwards where you’ll have a chance to meet Mr. Stevens in person. Then, make a real New York night of it, by staying for BAM’s massively popular “Takeover” (9 p.m. to 4 a.m.). Tickets are available through BAM. MAS members who pick up their Takeover tickets in advance will be able to go to the front of the line and bypass the long wait. Box office hours 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Update – Thursday, September 25
Unfortunately, all tickets to the Brendan Gill Prize reception are now sold out. Reservations are required and neither memberships nor tickets will not be sold at the door. Tickets for Takeover are still available.

MAS is awarding this year’s Brendan Gill prize to Sufjan Stevens for his acclaimed composition BQE (AsthmaticKitty). The Gill prize was created by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in honor of Brendan Gill and is awarded annually to a creator of a work of art, book, sculpture, film, musical composition, or architectural design, accomplished the previous year, that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.

Santiago Calatrava echoes MAS’ sentiments that a train station should be a grand gateway into the city and a gift from the city for the public good; read more about MAS’ principles for Moynihan Station on New Penn Station.

In other news, the land and business owners in opposition to the City’s proposed Willets Point rezoning have broken into factions… Continue Reading>>

We invite MAS members to submit nominations for the 2008 Brendan Gill Prize. The prize is awarded annually to the creator of a specific work — a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film or choreographic work — completed in the previous year that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.

Endowed to permit a cash award, the 2008 prize will honor a single work completed in 2007. The award is not intended to honor an individual’s lifetime achievements. Continue Reading>>

The 2007 Brendan Gill Prize was awarded on Monday evening, December 3, to actor, playwright and poet Sarah Jones, for her Tony-award winning one-woman show “Bridge & Tunnel.” The newly built Diker Pavilion in the National Museum of the American Indian, a transformed landmark — formerly the U.S. Custom House built by the legendary Beaux-Arts architect Cass Gilbert — on Bowling Green, was the stage for the presentation.

In an exhilarating performance, Ms. Jones selected excerpts from her play which celebrates the city’s diversity with all its idiosyncrasies, conflicts and humor through the voices of fourteen immigrant characters. Continue Reading>>

Monday, December 3, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at the National Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green, New York MAP

The Board of Directors of the Municipal Art Society will award the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize to actor, playwright and poet Sarah Jones for “Bridge & Tunnel” her off-Broadway 2004 – Broadway 2006 one-woman show, vividly portaying the diverse and wonderful characters who populate and enrich our city.

This event is by invitation only.

To learn more about the Brendan Gill Prize and previous winners, click here.

The 2006 Brendan Gill Prize has honored Christo and Jeanne-Claude for The Gates — the first grand scale public art project of the 21st century, a one-time exhibition that inspired New Yorkers and the rest of the world to exultation and goodwill. For sixteen shining days, February 12-28, 2005, the billowing saffron of The Gates metamorphosed Central Park into a museum without walls.

On October 5, nearly 80 MAS members and friends gathered at the Urban Center to celebrate the 19th annual presentation of the prize. Continue Reading>>