Divine Pathways

Opened October 2023, on view through May 2024

The Cathedral Church of St John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

Divine Pathways is a stunning, site-specific textile installation created by artist Anne Patterson for the vaulted Nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Patterson’s largest work to date - an immense field of ribbons – cascades in light and color from the vaulted arches of the Cathedral’s interior, drawing from the hues of stained glass and shadows within the Cathedral’s nave and leading viewers’ eyes to the elegant architectural details throughout the interior, newly revealed after years of restoration and cleaning.

Divine Pathways was created in concert with communities and organizations from across the Morningside Heights neighborhood, New York City, and the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Patterson has invited community members to literally write themselves into the work by extending an invitation to write hopes, dreams, and prayers onto the ribbons themselves. Though individual prayers will be anonymous and beyond the viewer’s sight, their collective presence creates an experience that is both intimate and immense, and that celebrates the collaborative process and community itself.

“At the center of this installation is a heart of gold. It is a heart to connect us to ourselves, and the goodness of humanity. As we look up the fabric strands - I call them light pathways that are connecting heaven and earth - our hopes, dreams and prayers stream up to the divine and grace streams down to us.” - Anne Patterson

Anne Patterson
Divine Pathways, 2023
fabric, polypropylene rope
30’ x 120’ x 75’

Associate Designer: Kina Park

Rigging: Sapsis Rigging

Assistants: Jocelyn Basurto, Tessa Bookwalter, Joelle Gonzalez, Starlet Jacobs, Cole Mercier, Veronica Silva

Special thanks goes to: The Rt. Rev. Andrew M L Dietsche, The Rt. Rev. Matthew Foster Heyd, The Very Rev. Patrick Malloy, Laura Bosley, Kristine Pottinger, Lisa Schubert