20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central Park

20 years ago, New York’s Central Park turned orange with a now legendary installation titled ‘The Gates’. The site-specific installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude featured 7,503 gates spanning 23 miles throughout the park, and attracted over four million visitors. Now, to mark its 20th anniversary, this saffron-coloured art returns, but this time on your phone.

‘The Gates’ returns in all its saffron glory to Central Park

With the help of augmented reality, ‘The Gates’ by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude makes its digital return to Central Park where visitors can view its billowing saffron fabric on their smartphones, located between East 72nd Street and Cherry Hill.

The original art installation made its debut on 12 February 2005, and lined Central Park’s footpaths with over 7000 16-foot-tall orange gates. The somewhat simple concept captivated the public with its warming colour palette during New York's darker months – and darker times in history – after the 9/11 attacks.

The bright orange fabric which caught the wind and created a balloon-like tunnel, sparked joy and happiness within the icy park, and acted as a symbol of hope to many. Now, throughout the park there are various kiosks with QR-codes which allow visitors to scan with their phones and see ‘The Gates’ as it was 20 years ago.

To further celebrate the installation’s anniversary, the Shed at Hudson Yards will display a retrospective titled ‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City’ which focuses on the design process and installation of ‘The Gates’, which also included photographs, drawings and earlier design concepts.

‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City’ is on display at The Shed until 23 March 2025 theshed.org christojeanneclaude.net