Holiday Cactus coming to Hudson Square

The Hudson Square Connection is adding a little twist to traditional holiday decorations, artist Animus Arts Collective will be adding 23 ‘Flaming Cacti’ to the district!




What is a ‘flaming cactus,’ you might ask?

It is an ordinary streetlight pole that has been transformed into a public art display using nothing more than bright, fluorescent-colored zip ties. The artist hand-makes a sleeve of zip ties and wraps the poles in a way that resembles a desert cactus. These vibrant creations will be on display primarily on Spring Street, Little Sixth Avenue and the Urban Plaza next to Trump through January.

So keep an eye out for these unique decorations coming soon to Hudson Square for the holiday season. And feel free to Tweet @HudsonSquareNYC some creative pictures alongside the “cacti!”

For those of us in this little known pocket dubbed “Hudson Square”, the sight of a cherry-picker out on a lonely Sunday night, filled with streams of day-glo plastic warrants a second look, and a query. Me and my dog hound the streets of downtown seeking out the odd, the interesting and sometimes even the fashionable. In this case, it’s the lamp posts getting their duds on for the Holiday season. Up and down Spring Street, on the west side of 6th Avenue, banners and “cacti” abound. Wonder of wonders.

We are a neighborhood filled with artists behind closed doors, not a few, mostly old school. Public art in the streets of our ‘hood will perk us all up, add a touch of whimsy to the environment, and just maybe make what Tom Wolfe called “WeVar” more interesting visually. Look up as you walk the streets of New York City at Christmas time, because much of what is to be seen is vertical.