The theme of this year’s “Morningside Lights” is “A Common Thread” (photo courtesy Processional Arts Workshop)
MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS: A COMMON THREAD
Lantern workshops
Miller Theatre, Broadway & 116th St.
September 12-18, free with advance RSVP
Procession
Morningside Park
Saturday, September 19, free, 8:00
www.morningside-lights.com
THe fifteenth annual “Morningside Lights” takes place on September 19 at 8:00, as hundreds of people participate in a procession through Morningside Park, carrying twenty-five large lanterns. Initiated in 2012 by Brenna St. George Jones, Alex Kahn, Sophia Michahelles, and Melissa Smey, the event connects Columbia students and their families with members of the community. From September 12 to 18, the university hosts daily lantern workshops, led by artistic directors Kahn and Michahelles, as the lanterns go through four essential steps, involving coroplast, cheesecloth, glue, and white and colored tissue, before they’re ready for the procession, which begins at 116th St. and Broadway and marches through Morningside Park to the Columbia campus. Lantern holders will be chosen at 7:00 on a first-come, first-served basis; no experience is necessary.
This year’s theme is “A Common Thread,” bringing everyone together. In their artists statement, Kahn and Michahelles explain that for the 2026 iteration, “We delve into the fabric of iconic patterns, decorative motifs, and recurring images that surround us – in woven and printed textiles, in personal and domestic adornments, in architectural and engineered spaces. While some patterns meld into the rhythm of everyday life, others reveal sacred geometries or cultural connections that transport us out of the present into the timeless. In their endless juxtapositions and recombinations, such patterns reveal the patchwork stories of a pluralistic city and nation, made anew with every generation.”
In conjunction with the anniversary, the exhibition “Carried by Light: Celebrating Fifteen Years of Morningside Lights” will be on view in the Miller Theatre lobby through next May. “Morningside Lights began fifteen years ago with a small team and a simple idea: that making art together could bring a community closer,” Smey said in a statement. “Since then, more than twenty-five thousand participants have helped shape lanterns, stories, and shared moments. This anniversary is a moment to look back with gratitude, and to look forward with excitement to all those who will continue to carry this tradition forward.”
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]