ICONS OF CULTURE FESTIVAL: Philippe Petit

After he became world famous for walking a steel cable without permission between the towers of the World Trade Center at the age of 24, Philippe Petit has performed on the high wire all over the world. Among the most famous sites are Notre Dame (illegally in 1971), the Eiffel Tower, Grand Central Station, Lincoln Center. Other distinctive locations include Jerusalem, Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Vallauris (for Picasso’s 90th birthday) – there are more than 100 in total. For Philippe, walking the wire is an art form; his goal is to raise the sights (literally) of people who watch him. He has become an icon for proposition that mountains can be moved, dreams can come true, nothing is impossible.

Now 74 and still doing major high wire appearances, Philippe is also an author, artist, close-up magician, lock-picker, keynote speaker, 18th century-method timber framer, chess player, aficionado of French wine, linguist, and was once seen bullfighting in Peru. He has been arrested over 500 times on five continents —for street juggling. He has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for more than 40 years, and it is there that he recently staged, with a cast that featured Sting, the grand celebration of the 50th anniversary of his WTC coup.