I was recently in New York City. As I was born in New York and many of my closest friends still live there, coming to Manhattan always feels like a homecoming. I am a big fan of the Buddhist notion of “Beginner’s Mind” and truly appreciate the chance to approach the familiar as if it is the first time. As New York is constantly changing, a visit provides an amazing place to practice. I am excited to share with you the places I explored when I found myself on an impromptu walk through the Village, Lower East Side and Chinatown.
Spring Café: My friend Sabrina opened her first Spring Café in Aspen and it became my go-to commissary when I was living there. Now in NYC, I crave the Beyond Meat Bento Box!
Perrotin Gallery: The New York outpost of this global gallery (Perrotin has exhibition spaces in Paris, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Los Angeles) helps make the Lower East Side as important of a contemporary arts destination as Chelsea. In addition to showing artists like KAWS and Takashi Murakami, the Lower East Side’s history as a hub of haberdashery is also on display from Perrotin’s upper galleries. Ask the gallery assistants to see some of Korean artist, Shim Moon-Seup’s truly breathtaking works on paper!
Lanterne Lab: Engaging in creative practice is one way to open ourselves up to deeper connection, shared understanding, and community building. I came across this candle lab in Chinatown and was immediately drawn to making my own candle. From such simple materials comes such a profound experience: the warmth of light.
Mahayana Buddhist Temple: In a city as bustling as this one, finding respite is always welcome, sometimes challenging. So it was a pleasant surprise to find this temple at the edge of Chinatown and at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge.
Manhattan Bridge: I love to walk. Sometimes my walks are meditative, other times productive. But they are always revelatory. On my walk across the bridge I took note of art in unexpected forms. The graffiti, the new architecture along the skyline, and simply the variety of people walking with me. To walk is to practice seeing.
St. Ann’s Warehouse: Like art, theater happens all over New York. In fact, the further away one gets from the Chelseas and Broadways of the world, the more vital the art forms become. St. Ann’s Warehouse, on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge, is a live event space that is one of New York’s most dynamic. Their recent, modern staging of The Cherry Orchard was boundlessly imaginative.
Photography by Patrick Forgot / Alamy
