Fujifilm recently donated $50,000 to Friends of the High Line (FHL), a non-profit group formed in 1999 to protect the 1.45-mile-long High Line elevated rail structure on the west side of Manhattan. FHL’s mission is to preserve the structure for reuse as an elevated public open space.
Construction fencing in the neighborhood will feature improvised outdoor art galleries covered with photographs of High Line supporters from the local community and beyond. Hundreds of photos will be displayed to raise awareness of High Line park. Fujifilm's contribution to FHL will help support community-outreach efforts, including the High Line Portrait Project, in the final year before the park’s opening. The first section of the Park is slated to open to the public in the summer of 2008.
Images included in the High Line Portrait Project capture the spirit of the inventive, new park that is being built atop the elevated rail structure, which runs through the Manhattan neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen.
“Set atop an out-of-use freight rail trestle, the High Line will be a park like no other. It shows the creativity and innovation that makes New York City great,” says Robert Hammond, co-founder of FHL. “What started as a few people’s dream turned into a community project, gained worldwide support, and is finally becoming a reality. The High Line shows what can happen when we dream big.”
The portraits were displayed in several locations surrounding the High Line during the summer of 2007. Afterwards, the images will be compiled in a commemorative publication. The photos can also be viewed on a Website FHL developed at www.thehighline.org/portraits.
“The need to find, protect or create greenways, particularly in such a unique, visual way is so important as part of a global effort to maintain a balance with the environment,” says Camilla Jenkins, vice president of corporate communications at Fujifilm. “The ideals and project
fit perfectly with Fujifilm’s global commitment to preservation, conservation, and community-cultural efforts. This effort has succeeded tremendously already and we hope this project will remind other companies and individuals that there continues to be a great need for community support for the High Line now and into the future.”