There's nothing like a raging real estate success to inspire...an arts festival! Why not? According to a recent article in New York magazine, the High Line, New York's "park in the sky," not only got the necessary city approvals in record time but also propelled a gritty industrial neighborhood into the stratosphere several years before construction even began on the park. Now's the time to celebrate the city's brand-of-the-moment, with a festival that runs from May 9 to 19.

The event's producers, who signed David Bowie as the first annual High Line Festival curator, will donate a portion of the proceeds to Friends of the High Line (FHL), a not-for-profit organization formed to prevent the rail trail's demolition, and to spearhead its transformation. Photo left: Looking East on 30th Street on a Monday morning in May, 2000, from Walking the High Line by Joel Sternfeld.

Some of the venues for the ten-day mash-up of music, comedy, film, visual and performance arts (HighLine Ballroom, the General Theological Seminary) are in the shadow of the namesake elevated railway that slices through Chelsea's far western edge. The line up includes musicians and performers hand-picked by Bowie. With a roster of stars like Lou Reed, Ricky Gervais and Laurie Anderson, and indie rockers Deerhoof, the multi-faceted culture-fest is rounded out by a Spanish film-fest and a celebration of Surrealism's cross-dressing cult figure, Claude Cahun (1894-1954).

A free outdoor multi-media installation, produced by David Bowie, will bring the work of Cahun and her partner Marcel Moore to life in the gardens of the General Theological Seminary. This is the first time the historic site has been opened for a public art project; it runs from Thursday to Sunday, May 17 - 20. On May 11, starting at 2:00 pm, Aperture Gallery will present film screenings, a performance and other events related to the artists. Rendering, right: High Line landscape design by Field Operations.

For those who need to get up to speed on the High Line, FHL's website is a feast of information about its past and present history, including Joel Sternfeld's four-season photographic documentation of the rail bed, formerly overgrown with grasses and wild flowers. For those already committed to the realization of the High Line, there is a reminder to rally tonight for the preservation of a mile-long section slated for demolition, and an invitation to attend a design presentation on May 14^th at Cooper Union's Great Hall.