We already spent a lot of time in New York City, but we'd never been to Long Island City before. That's why we visited the district this time and combined it with a visit to MoMa PS1. MoMA PS1 is one of the largest art institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. It is located in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens. The building is a former Primary School. That's why it is called PS1. It is an innovative, unique space devoted to the most challenging, thought-provoking contemporary art of today and part of MoMA. A concrete jungle where dreams are made ;-)!
The museum building itself is unique. It still has the ambiance of the school it used to be. The doors and rooms are still intact. If you peak out the right window, you can see the New York skyline on the other side of the river. In summer they organize festivals, so absolutely worth a visit. The people who run this place are mostly artists themselves and are more than willing to show you interesting details of the exhibitons, artworks and history of the building. The tours, guided by scholars and artists, introduce adults and school groups to cutting-edge contemporary art through interactive discussions of the themes, techniques, and imagery of the art on view, as well as the personal perspective of lecturing artists. We found it interesting to take part in one of the tours. It gave us new perspectives on the artworks shown and on how to look at them.
It takes you only a 15 minute ride with the subway from Manhattan Island to reach MoMa PS1 in Queens. You take Line E and heading East bound. The station you have to go to is Court Square. You only have to walk for 3 minutes to reach 22-25 Jackson Avenue where MoMa PS1 is situated. You can also have lunch at MoMa PS1. We recommend the avocado toast. Yummy!
Long Island City is definitely an upcoming district and known for its artistic habitat. So if you want to live here...don't wait to long ;-)!