A striking ice sculpture show is heading to Governors Island

Governors Island continues on its quest to become a must-visit destination any season of the year as the third annual ice sculpture show will officially take hold of the island this winter. 

Now through November 17, artists of all disciplines are invited to submit their proposed work online right here. Ten finalists will be chosen by the end of December and, on February 3, 2024, each one of them will be paired with a professional ice carver from Okamoto Studio and together they will carve out their intended ice sculpture during a two-hour live, public event on Governors Island that will be completely free to attend by all. 

Visitors will get to vote for their favorite work at the end of the event and a larger scale version of the winning sculpture will then be created and installed by Okamoto Studio in Times Square just in time for Valentine's Day. That is all to say: the formidable ice structure might actually become the back drop to a lot of proposals and declarations of love.

In case you can't make it to the live sculpting event, worry not: all the works will remain on view on Governors Island until they melt.

Keep in mind, though, that if the weather in February is anything like it is going to be this weekend (that is: absolutely beautiful but unseasonably warm), then you'll only probably have a couple of hours to admire the frozen pieces until they turn into water.