WATERFRONT HEROES | OPENING RECEPTION | SUN, OCT 14TH 5:30-7:30PM | ARTSPACE @ SI ARTS  

Traveling exhibit curated by Long Island Traditions, City Lore, and folklorists Naomi Sturm and Dan Ward. Hosted by Staten Island Arts on behalf of Long Island Traditions, City Lore and the Canal Society.

Waterfront Heroes is an interpretive exhibit that recognizes individuals and groups who are saving our region’s maritime heritage and traditions so that future generations can learn about the tremendous history of our region’s waterfront cultural treasures. The exhibit celebrates unique folk artists and tradition bearers from Staten Island, New York City’s other boroughs, and Long Island. The exhibit includes historic and contemporary photographs by noted photographers including Thomas Pich, Martha Cooper, and Mike Busch/Great South Bay Images, along with curated audio pieces collected by folklorists and ethnographers Molly Garfinkel, Nancy Solomon, Steven Zeitlin, Naomi Sturm, and others.  

The heroes profiled in the exhibit include the Museum of Maritime Navigation & Communication, the Sandy Hook Pilots Association, Waterfront Barge founder David Sharps, steam whistle collector Conrad Milster, Rocking the Boat, the South Shore Bay House Owners Association, and the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association.

Photo above by Eric Gulbransen. The North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association is a group of independent baymen who work the harbors of Oyster Bay on Long Island’s North Shore.  

Support for this exhibit has been provided generously by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Councilwoman Debi Rose, Con Edison, the Lois & Richard Nicotra Foundation, and Stop & Stor.