The Socrates Annual 2026: Summer Solstice Opening Celebration
Sunday, June 21 | 5 – 8:30pm
Free with RSVP here
Gather with friends, family, and neighbors to celebrate the longest day of the year and the opening of Καλλιτέχνες Επιλέγουν Καλλιτέχνες: Επέτειος Υποτροφίας Socrates, a multi-part exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the Socrates Annual Fellowship. Presented in four phases through Fall 2027, the exhibition will introduce ten new site-specific projects by 2026 Artist Fellows, developed onsite and unveiled over time throughout the Park.
The Summer Solstice Opening Celebration marks the debut of the exhibition’s first three installations by Josué Guarionex, Jeremy John Kaplan, Και Nicole Mouriño, who have been creating their projects onsite since March. The evening will feature performances and activations by DJ Christian Martir of Sociedad Life, Caridad de La Luz (LA BRUJA), Juan Usera + La Tribu del Juey Sambuco, and Rebecca Gual, alongside hands-on artmaking workshops and a special sunset paddle with the Long Island City Boathouse. Join us for an evening of art, music, community, and summer celebration on the waterfront.
At 5pm, DJ Christian Martir of Sociedad Life will kick off the celebration, providing the soundtrack for the evening.
At 5:30pm, join the LIC Community Boathouse for an early evening paddle at Hallets Cove before returning to the Park for the Summer Solstice celebration.
Note: All ages are welcome, but participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Sign up here to reserve a spot or volunteer.
At 6:15pm, Emmy Award–winning poet, actor, educator, Indigenous activist, musical theater artist, Bronx living legend, and Executive Director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Caridad De La Luz (LA BRUJA) will perform a selection of poetry as part of Josué Guarionex’s installation La Carreta Made a U-Turn.
At 7pm, Juan Usera + La Tribu del Juey Sambuco will lead an interactive workshop and performance celebrating the rich traditions of Bomba and Plena, inviting audiences to engage with the rhythms, movement, and communal spirit of these Afro–Puerto Rican cultural practices as part of Josué Guarionex’s installation La Carreta Made a U-Turn.
At 7:45pm, the LIC Community Boathouse will lead a Sunset Paddle along the East River from Hallets Cove to Anable Basin, offering participants a unique perspective of the waterfront at golden hour.
Note: Participants must be 18 or older. Please Sign up here to reserve a seat and learn more.
At 8:15, Rebecca Gual will present a live movement-based performance as part of Nicole Mouriño’s installation Massage Core
Schedule subject to change. Please check the website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on social media for updates.
About the Fellowship Program
For three decades, the Socrates Annual Fellowship has embodied the Park’s founding commitment to artistic experimentation, excellence, and care. The Fellowship remains one of New York City’s most vital platforms for early career artists to create ambitious public works and develop their practices in dialogue with community, environment, and place. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the program and the Park’s 40th anniversary in 2026, Socrates turned to its esteemed alumni network to help guide the next chapter through the Park’s first ever nomination-based process. Initiated in August, Socrates invited over 100 artist alumni to nominate up to two artists each. The Park, ultimately, identified ten artists to join the program over the 2026–2028 cycles. For more info on the Fellowship Program please see here.
BIOS
Caridad de La Luz
Caridad De La Luz is an Emmy-winning poet known as LA BRUJA who in 2022 was appointed Executive Director of the NUYORICAN POETS CAFE where she began her career in 1996. In 2023, she helped secure a renovation project of $24 million for the Nuyorican Poets cafe located on the Lower East Side. She was the winner of the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship for 2019-2020 and a 2021 David Prize finalist. Caridad balances a life of leadership, activism, spirituality, education and art with performances in successful Off-Broadway musicals such as I LIKE IT LIKE THAT. She has been one of America’s leading spoken word poets for over 20 years and has received the Puerto Rican Women Legacy Award, The Edgar Allan Poe Award from The Bronx Historical Society and was honored as A Bronx Living Legend by The Bronx Music Heritage Center. She was presented with a Citation of Merit from The Bronx Borough President in 2014 and named “Top 20 Puerto Rican Women Everyone Should Know”. She has received the Bronx Cultural Visions Fund recently, a $20K grant from the Bronx Council on the Arts to finalize and present the production by 2025.
Christian Martir
Christian Martir is an award-winning cultural producer whose work has been recognized and mentioned by various publications including The New York Times and Vogue. I have been able to work on a variety of projects from Madison Square Garden to Mexico City through partnerships that range from the NBA to Nike, to iconic cultural institutions including the Smithsonian and SummerStage.
Juan Usera + La Tribu del Juey Sambuco
Juan Usera is a fourth-generation Bomba practitioner. Juan’s practice comes from Cangrejos, San Mateo de Cangrejos, called Santurce today. Santurce was the first free Black settlement in Puerto Rico and the most important Black cultural enclave on the island. Juan was born and raised in Villa Palmeras, Santurce, Puerto Rico where he learned his artistic practice in an organic way from his family and community cultural bearers. Juan has been performing and teaching Bomba, Plena, and other Caribbean music styles in New York and Puerto Rico for over 20 years. Juan has performed with Paracumbé, Sonido Isleño, Los Pleneros de la 21, Papo Vázquez, Company Freak, and The Fadara Group among others.
LIC Community Boathouse
The LIC Community Boathouse celebrates our “city of water” by reconnecting NYC residents with our waterways, providing access and instruction for recreational kayaking, an energizing and fun sport for everyone. Their mission is to provide residents and visitors with educational and recreational paddling opportunities. Our programs raise awareness about estuary ecology, supporting the goal of restoring the natural beauty and health of New York Harbor for all to enjoy.
Image credit: Image: 2026 Artist Fellow Josué Guarionex – project rendering for La Carreta Made a U-turn, 2026