Host­ed by Gov­er­nors Island Arts in part­ner­ship with Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC) and with the expert guid­ance of Okamo­to Stu­dio, the show is an excit­ing one-day event where vis­i­tors will be able to expe­ri­ence live ice carv­ing, enjoy music and warm drinks, and vote on their favorite works for the ​“People’s Choice Award,” pre­sent­ed to the fan favorite.

Ice sculp­ture com­pe­ti­tions and exhi­bi­tions have a long his­to­ry around the world but are not typ­i­cal­ly seen on a grand scale in New York City — and are often lim­it­ed to artists who spe­cial­ize in ice carv­ing. The Gov­er­nors Island Win­ter Ice Show strives to democ­ra­tize this pop­u­lar activ­i­ty, trans­form­ing it into one open to all artists regard­less of dis­ci­pline and pre­vi­ous experience. 

NYC-based artists and artist teams are invit­ed to sub­mit design pro­pos­als online at the link below. Ten pro­pos­als will be select­ed to com­pete by a dis­tin­guished jury of New York City-based cul­tur­al lead­ers. Select­ed artists or teams will receive an award of $2,000 to par­tic­i­pate, and will be pro­vid­ed with tools, pro­duc­tion mate­ri­als, and will be matched with a pro­fes­sion­al ice carv­er from Okamo­to Stu­dio to com­plete the work on the day of the event. An ice carv­ing ori­en­ta­tion for all select­ed artists and teams will take place pri­or to the event at Okamo­to Stu­dio. The dead­line to sub­mit pro­pos­als is Tues­day Jan­u­ary 17, 2023.