FAQ

Anyone can submit a project to FIGMENT! Adults, children, professional artists or those looking to create their first piece! Anyone who can bring their project to FIGMENT by their own means and de-install it when the event is over is welcome to submit.

In the past, FIGMENT has hosted a wide variety of artistic endeavors… Street theater, costuming, sculpture, inflatable art, dance, performance art, installations, social experiments, mobile art, workshops, games, community building projects, arts & crafts, sound art, bands & DJs, lectures & seminars on themes of participatory art & culture, and anything else you can imagine! Please do remember that FIGMENT is an event for everyone when deciding on subject matter for your project.

Installations, performances, activities, or other projects that can be set up outdoors are welcome. Indoor space may be available for certain projects, though we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the beautiful outdoor environment at Snug Harbor. You can set up your own area or host a scheduled event or performance. If you have an idea for FIGMENT and have questions don’t hesitate to get in touch. No matter what you do, the one requirement is that it somehow engages audience participation. Just bring it to FIGMENT and try it out!

FIGMENT is a community-based event organized and run by volunteers. It is a gift we give to each other.

Our success is dependent on community participation.

FIGMENT provides infrastructure support and shares information about our artists but it does NOT provide funding for the production, transportation, or insurance of works to, at, or from the island.

FIGMENT encourages artists to apply for outside grants and fundraise for your project within your personal capacity. Please note that no corporate sponsorship (including logos and credit lines) is permitted at the event. In addition, nothing may be advertised or sold at the event.

Once you have submitted your project, speak about logistical needs in more detail with one of our curators or email [email protected].

Artists are encouraged to set up and break down their exhibits before and after FIGMENT, instead of during the event itself. Snug Harbor is open for project installation for two days before the festival. You must receive confirmation from a FIGMENT curator for your date and time of installation, If you need to set up during the event, there will be early AM availability on both Saturday and Sunday.  Projects must be ready by 10am unless otherwise worked out with your curator.  

You may take your project materials with you when you leave FIGMENT, or schedule a de-installation Monday morning, the day after the festival.  All de-installation plans must be communicated with your curator in advance and all projects must be fully de-installed by 2pm on Monday.  

If you use the CarGo Truck, you will receive instructions from the logistics coordinator. 

If you would like to DJ at FIGMENT, we would recommend getting together with friends to propose a project as a collective, and making your DJ area part of the proposal. Previous FIGMENT events have had collectives including Disorient, Fairytale Collective, and Wax, all of which included DJs as part of their themed area. If you want to propose a project that involves multiple DJs, you will be responsible for curating the group during FIGMENT Weekend. Please email [email protected] for more information on how to curate a DJ area.

Please do not distribute fliers or printed materials at FIGMENT. We are trying to provide as waste-free an event as possible.

We kindly ask that you do not sell anything – including CDs – at FIGMENT. FIGMENT is an entirely free and non-commercial event in which everyone volunteers their time and effort to participate… the organizers, the artists, the participants. Interactions between people are not mediated by commercial transactions of any kind. Everything at FIGMENT is free, and there is no advertising, nothing for sale, and no one insisting that you have to give a donation to participate. We understand that many of you make your livelihoods by selling your art and we support you – FIGMENT is just not the time or place.

Yes, you may collect addresses, but we ask that you manage the list and make it clear to participants that they are signing up for your list and not the FIGMENT list. Please do not leave unattended clipboards around the island; keep the list with you so that you can get participants excited about your project.

Yes, there is limited parking available on Roosevelt Island. Please visit the Roosevelt Island website for more detailed information on parking on the island. While parking is limited, if you absolutely need your car to transport materials for your project AND have corresponded with a FIGMENT curator about bringing your vehicle, then it is possible that parking arrangements can be made.  

FIGMENT promotes radical self reliance, so please make every effort to bring all the supplies that you need for your project. As an all volunteer event, we give our time and passion to the event, but it’s a bit more challenging to buy things. FIGMENT can help direct you to free, donated and low cost resources from which to source materials. Please get in touch with us for more information: [email protected].

We encourage you to bring projects that you can carry while walking on to a public ferry. Projects will not be on our map or schedule, but FIGMENT is about serendipity and discovery so that’s quite all right. Unregistered projects will not have access to power, cannot be stored overnight and cannot be installed in a building or on any structure on the island. Please take your portable project with you when you leave the island and leave no trace.

Roosevelt Island is super accessible with many transportation options.  Please check Roosevelt Island-Getting There for more details. 

Yes!!!  We have been permitted to stay in Lighthouse Park till 10pm Saturday June 1st and are introducing our first FIGMENT NYC at night.  

Yes, there are a limited number of table and chairs built into the BBQ section of lighthouse park.  In order to reserve this space you will need to confirm with your curator that this space is suitable for your project and available for use.  

If it’s very very light, yes. But we cannot, under any circumstances, risk any damage to the trees. So please be gentle with the trees, and use a method of attachment that will not leave a mark or scar the tree in any way. Think cloth – preferably no paper strings, since they will stick or leak color on any tree as soon as it starts raining and that is almost impossible to remove when you de-install your project. Please check with your curator before hanging.  We cannot assign you a specific tree.

Please notify your curator if any projects involve compressed gas.

Yes, you are allowed to bring your dog.  Roosevelt Island follows the NYC Parks policy and allows you to bring your dog to the park.  To learn more about the NYC policy on dogs in parks click here.  

There is no public alcohol consumption allowed in Lighthouse park or Roosevelt Island. There is one restaurant (Nisi) that serve alcohol and provides outdoor seating. All consumption must be limited to permitted areas like Nisi Restaurant.  

FIGMENT is for everyone—and very kid- and family-friendly. The event is great for kids! Roosevelt Island is a public place and everything at FIGMENT is appropriate and fun for people of all ages! No precautions necessary... but do bring everything you'd need for a day out! Sunscreen, plenty of water, snacks, et cetera.