Lunch and Learn: Olive Earle and the Natural World
2021-04-15 12:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Online
*This is a recording of a Live Zoom Session*
$5 suggested donation/ free for members
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Olive Earle was a children’s book writer and illustrator whose work centered on the natural world. Her work was exhibited in group shows at American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles Museum, and more. For a time she made her home on Staten Island and we can assume that many of the plants and animals she sketched here made their way into her beloved books.

Join Collections Manager Audrey Malachowky for a closer look.
Lunch and Learn is a new lecture and presentation series beginning with a focus on objects in the museum’s collection. Join us when you’re hungry for knowledge, but only have time for a snack.

Lunch and Learn: Have you heard about Aaron Burr, Sir?
2021-05-20 12:00 - 12:30 | Online
*This is a recording from a Live Zoom Session*
$5 suggested donation/ free for members
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Join Archives Manager, Gabriella Leone and take a closer look at artifacts in the Museum’s collection linked Aaron Burr, one of the Island’s most (in)famous residents whose story was made popular by the musical Hamilton. Learn more about Burr, the third Vice President of the United States, who spent the final months of his life living in a Port Richmond hotel.

Lunch and Learn is a new lecture and presentation series beginning with a focus on objects in the museum’s collection. Join us when you’re hungry for knowledge, but only have time for a snack.

Lunch and Learn: Stumped
2021-06-17 12:00 - 12:30 | Online
*Recorded from a Live Zoom Session*
$5 suggested donation/ free for members
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1933 was one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons, falling third after 2005 and 2020. Learn what a chance find in the collection can tell us about that season, why it was so active, and what it can tell us about future hurricane seasons with Director of Natural Science, Colleen Evans.

Lunch and Learn is a new lecture and presentation series beginning with a focus on objects in the museum’s collection. Join us when you’re hungry for knowledge, but only have time for a snack.

Jennifer Angus: Magicicada New Exhibition
2021-07-16 11:00 - 17:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Artist Jennifer Angus presents Magicicada, taking inspiration from the museum’s collection of cicadas – one of the world’s largest. Angus has created an immersive environment to discover, full of exquisite and ornamental patterns and imaginative vignettes, unexpectedly created with hundreds of preserved insects.
The museum welcomes you to this new exhibition with expanded hours, now open Friday through Sunday 11am- 5pm.

Science Talk: Brood X Sounding Off
2021-07-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Join Colleen Evans, Director of Natural Science at the Staten Island Museum for a talk about how she helped collect insects for the current exhibition, Jennifer Angus: Magicada and all things Cicada.
What is Brood X? When will we see another emergence in Staten Island and how do they make that cacophonous sound!?
Free with Museum Admission.

Artist Talk: Jennifer Angus
2021-09-19 15:00 - 16:00 | Online
Free/Donations Welcome
Registration Required
Artist Jennifer Angus presents Magicicada, taking inspiration from the museum’s cicada collection — one of the world’s largest. Angus has created an immersive environment full of exquisite and ornamental patterns and imaginative vignettes, unexpectedly created with hundreds of preserved insects. Join the artist for an intimate discussion on creating other worlds and the power of the unexpected.
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Podcast: Site Unseen - Draft Riots
2021-10-02 | Online
Site Unseen takes listeners into the Staten Island Museum’s collections to see how documents, photos, and objects illuminate local history. Audio shorts bring together present-day advocates, policymakers and historians, to retell, reveal, and amplify site-specific stories.
Episode 1: Draft Riots
In this episode public historian and policy analyst Debbie-Ann Paige will lead us on a harrowing journey along Staten Island’s north shore in the path of the Civil War Draft Riots which gripped New York City in July of 1863.

Staten Island Museum · Site Unseen | Episode 1: William Olliffe’s Diary
Debbie-Ann Paige’s research illuminates how the Civil War Draft Riots on Staten Island targeted historically Black neighborhoods and abolitionist enclaves on the North Shore. Using William Olliffe’s diary as a point of reference, Paige will explore the contemporary political and economic tensions between pro- and anti- slavery factions and Black and immigrant laborers that led to the Draft Riots in the mid-19th century on Staten Island.
The riots rose in response to Congress’ Conscription Act, which mandated the first wartime draft in US History. The law made men between the ages of 20 and 45 liable to go to war. However, a man could avoid the draft by paying a fee or hiring a substitute to fight in his place. The act did not apply to African American men who were not considered citizens. In New York, the white, mostly Irish and Irish-American working class, who could not afford to pay to avoid military service, felt the burden of the war fell unfairly on their shoulders. During the riots they took their anger out on the draft officials, the pro-war and anti-slavery press, white, often wealthy, abolitionists, and most viciously on Black New Yorkers, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
As you will hear, the Conscription Act provided the spark in a powder keg of existing economic and racial tension in New York City and throughout the entire war-torn nation. Throughout the episode, Debbie-Ann Paige weaves this overarching narrative in and out of the stories of Staten Islanders who were targeted by the rioters. Christopher Franz reads a firsthand account of the riots by William Olliffe who worked at the Tompkinsville ferry landing during the Civil War and kept a diary documenting his experiences. His diary is housed in the Museum’s collection.
*Note: This episode contains depictions of graphic violence. Listener discretion is advised.
Debbie-Ann Paige
Debbie-Ann Paige is a public historian specializing in local African American history, a co-president of the newly chartered Richard B. Dickenson Staten Island Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and professional genealogist. She has worked on numerous local history projects including: In Pursuit of Freedom with the Brooklyn Historical Society; Women of the Nation Arise! and From Farm to City with the Staten Island Museum; and the designation of the Louis Napoleon House as a site to freedom with the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network on behalf of the Sandy Ground Historical Society.
Additionally, Debbie-Ann is a policy analyst with the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference working with state policymakers on issues relevant to veterans’ affairs and staffs the organization’s new initiative Council on Communities of Color (CCC). She has also served as an advisor to the Daniel Society, Center for Law and Justice.
Christopher Franz
Christopher Franz is Chair of the Department of History & Social Sciences at Monsignor Farrell High School. Formerly the Political Editor for The Staten Island Register, he wrote extensively on local history, New York City and State government, and environmental issues.
Click here to read the Show Notes.

[Postponed] Presentation: Site Unseen - Civil War Draft Riots and William Olliffe’s Diary
2021-10-02 14:00 - 15:00 | Online Live Event, * Please register.
This event has been postponed. Please check back soon for the rescheduled date.
Zoom – Registration required
$10/$5 members
Debbie-Ann Paige’s research illuminates how the Civil War Draft Riots on Staten Island targeted historically Black neighborhoods on the North Shore. Using ferry operator William Olliffe’s diary as a point of reference, Debbie-Ann will explore the contemporary political and economic tensions that led to the racially charged Draft Riots in the mid-19th century on Staten Island.
About Site Unseen: Site Unseen is a new audio project that takes listeners into the Staten Island Museum’s collections to see how documents, photos, and objects illuminate local history. Audio shorts bring together present-day advocates, policymakers and historians, to retell, reveal, and amplify site-specific stories.
Zoom link will be sent upon registration.

Introduction to Taxidermy with Divya Anantharaman of Gotham Taxidermy
2021-11-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
$20/$15 Museum Members
Zoom/Registration Required
Explore the history, learn about the process and take a closer look at some of the masterful creations of Divya Anantharaman, New York City’s premiere taxidermist. With a unique combination of science and style, her expertise is with birds, small mammals, and anatomic anomalies. Her work seeks to combine the demonstrative aspect of scientific presentation with the symbolic, introspective nature of art.
This program was recorded and can be viewed anytime here or on the museum’s youtube channel.

Presentation: How Brood X Cicadas Changed My Life with Chef Joseph Yoon of Brooklyn Bugs
2021-11-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
In Person – Registration Required
$20/$15 Museum Members
Chef Joseph Yoon spent two months immersed with Brood X Cicadas and had no idea how profoundly it would impact his life. Hear his story and the inspiration behind Brooklyn Bugs, founded in 2017 with the mission to raise awareness and appreciation for edible insects. His participation in this global food movement is an extension of his commitment to community. Chef Yoon has also created a special installation as part of the current exhibition Magicicada.
Proof of vaccination is now required for visitors 12 years of age and older under the City of New York’s ‘Key to NYC’ mandate. Face coverings for visitors ages 2 and up are required even if vaccinated. For more information and additional details, see the visit section of our website.

Lunch and Learn: Bluebird and European Starling
2021-11-18 12:00 - 12:30 | Online
Take a closer look at invasive species and unintended consequences with Danielle Belleny, wildlife biologist, science communicator, and avid birder from San Antonio, Texas.
As a wildlife biologist, Danielle gets to take a closer look at how and why ecosystems function. She is a co-organizer of #BlackBirdersWeek and The BlackAFinSTEM Collective, an organization focused on sharing the experiences of Black conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts.
Free/Donations Welcome
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Lunch and Learn: Buffalo Bill in Erastina
2021-12-16 12:00 - 12:30 | Online Live Event, * Please register.
When it comes to Staten Island, you might know about the West Shore, but what about the Wild West?
Join Jeremy M. Johnston, Ph.D., The Hal and Naoma Tate Endowed Chair of Western History at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to learn more about the borough’s place in the complicated history of the Wild West through an item found in the museum’s collection.
This program was delivered live via zoom and recorded.
$5 Recommended Donation/Free for Members
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About Jeremy M. Johnston
Jeremy M. Johnston currently serves as the Hal and Naoma Tate Endowed Chair of Western History, the Goppert Curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum, and the Managing Editor of the Papers of William F. Cody. Born and raised in Powell, Wyoming, Johnston graduated from Powell High School. Johnston attended the University of Wyoming, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1993 and his Master of Arts in 1995. Johnston earned his Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2017. His doctoral dissertation examined the personal and professional relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. His dissertation is currently under contract to be published by the University of Oklahoma Press as Two Rough Riders. Johnston published various articles in Annals of Wyoming, Colorado Heritage, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s magazine Points West, Readings of Wyoming History, the George Wright Forum, and Yellowstone Science. He released his first book, a photo history of Powell, Wyoming, in 2009, followed by a “then and now” photo history in 2012. Johnston is the recipient of the 2006 Coke Wood Award, sponsored by Westerners International, for his article “Progressivism Comes to Yellowstone: Theodore Roosevelt and Professional Land Management Agencies in the Yellowstone Ecosystem.” He is a past president of the Wyoming State Historical Society and currently serves on the Public History Committee of the Western History Association. Johnston appeared on various Wyoming PBS documentaries, including Roy Barnes: Rocky Mountain Cowboy and Wyoming Voices, Tony Robinson’s Wild West for the Discovery UK Channel, and Mysteries at the Museum for the Travel Channel. Collaborating with Dr. Charles Preston of the Center’s Draper Natural History Museum, he produced an annotated version of Ernest Thompson-Seton’s Wahb: The Biography of a Grizzly, published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Johnston and Lynn Houze co-edited the memoir of Buffalo Bill’s fellow town founder of Cody, Wyoming, George W. T. Beck, titled Beckoning Frontiers: The Memoir of a Wyoming Entrepreneur. He previously taught at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, for over fifteen years. Johnston is currently completing a biography of Theodore Roosevelt for South Dakota Historical Society Press.

Site Unseen Podcast: Beryl Thurman and the North Shore Waterfront
2022-03-05 | Online
Site Unseen takes listeners into the Staten Island Museum’s collections to see how documents, photos, and objects illuminate local history. Audio shorts bring together present-day advocates, policymakers and historians, to retell, reveal, and amplify site-specific stories.
Episode 2: Beryl Thurman and the North Shore Waterfront

Staten Island Museum · Site Unseen: Beryl Thurman and the North Shore Waterfront
As industries sprouted up on the Kill Van Kull, Staten Island’s economy became ever more linked with the rest of the region – a link that was strengthened with the construction of the Bayonne Bridge, which opened in 1931. Beryl Thurman’s work explores the extent to which the remnants of this industrial age still impact the residents who live along the Kill today.
“The more you know about your environment, the better advocate you can be for Staten Island. And that’s what Staten Island really needs, it needs more advocates, it needs more people that think through the process.”
– Beryl Thurman
About Beryl Thurman

Beryl Thurman is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she is graduate of Baldwin Wallace University where she majored in Art, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
She is a founding member of the North Shore Waterfront Conservancy of Staten Island, Inc. In 2005 the same year that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Beryl became the executive director/president of NSWC. From that point on she combined the research that she had done on the waterfront contaminated sites with realities of living in a waterfront community that is extremely vulnerable to Climate Change’s sea level rising, storm surges and flooding. From 2005 until present NSWC has dedicated its efforts by attempting to fast track the remediation that are needed for these contaminated waterfront sites on Staten Island’s North Shore to protect the Environmental Justice communities that are behind them. She authored two Environmental Justice booklets: “Staten Island’s Gold Coast: 5.2 miles from St. George to Arlington” and “Shore Up: Community Resilience and Adaptation.”
Click here to read the Show Notes.

Book Talk: The Sustainability Myth
2022-03-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with museum admission
Registration required
To join this program virtually, please email Rylee Eterginoso to receive the zoom link.
Join Dr. Melissa Checker for a discussion around her award-winning book The Sustainability Myth. Focusing on industrial waterfronts and historically underserved places like Harlem and Staten Island’s North Shore, Dr. Checker takes an in-depth look at the dynamics of environmental gentrification while highlighting the valiant efforts of local environmental justice activists (such as Staten Island’s Beryl Thurman) who work across racial, economic, and political divides to challenge sustainability’s false promises and create truly viable communities.
You can listen to Episode 2 of the Site Unseen Podcast: Beryl Thurman and the North Shore Waterfront to learn more about the extent to which the industrial age still effects the residents who live along the Kill Van Kull today.
Updated Visitor Information: All visitors ages 5 and older must show proof they have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for admission to the museum, in accordance with NYC requirements. Visitors over 18 will also be asked to show photo ID. Face coverings are required for all over the age of 2, even if vaccinated. For more information and additional details, see the visit section of our website.

Unnatural History: Colonial Collecting and the Politics of Display in Natural History Museums
2022-04-28 19:00 - 20:00 | Online Live Event, * Please register.
NEW DATE!
$5.
Live via Zoom
A Presentation with Elaine Ayers, Ph.D.
What does the history of collecting, preservation, and display have to do with legacies of violence and inequity? How do shifting categories of race, gender, and sexuality appear throughout natural history museums, even in seemingly innocuous objects like plants and insects? By unraveling the long colonial history of the institutions that we care for and work with, from herbaria to anthropological exhibits, this talk will point to the instabilities of collecting and collections from the eighteenth century to the present while offering hope for new, more inclusive ways forward.
Elaine Ayers is a faculty member in the Program in Museum Studies and an affiliate of the Program in the History of Science at NYU, where she works on the entangled histories of science, art, and collecting. She received her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Princeton University, and her work has been supported by institutions like the New York Botanical Garden, the Yale Center for British Art, the NSF, and Stanford University.
This program is produced in partnership with the Staten Island Archaeological Society.
Zoom link will be provided upon registration.

Gallery Talk and Closing Reception: Magicicada
2022-05-22 14:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Final Weekend!
Free with Museum Admission
Join artist Jennifer Angus in the gallery for an intimate look at the creation and intention of Magicicada – an immersive environment full of exquisite and ornamental patterns and imaginative vignettes, unexpectedly created with hundreds of preserved insects. This is the final weekend to experience Magicicada.

Juneteenth Transcribe-a-thon
2022-06-18 13:00 - 16:00 | NY
In-Person (register above) and Virtual (register below)
Free, Donations Welcome
We need your help!
The Staten Island Museum has partnered with the Staten Island Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and Frederick Douglass Memorial Park to transcribe newly digitized family history records making them more easily searchable and accessible for family and history research.
A transcribe-a-thon is an event where people gather to work simultaneously on a transcription project. No previous experience is required. Training will be provided.
Bring your own laptop or tablet.
This program will be continuing virtually all year long! Watch the introductory video, set up an account with From the Page, and start transcribing! Instructions below.
Virtual Registration
Transcriber Resources

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Greetings From: Mail Art with Day de Dada
2022-07-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Summer Nights
$35/$30 members
Registration required
Mail Art, also known as Correspondence Art, is a method of creating and sharing small-scale artworks through the postal service. People all over the world enjoy this traveling, tactile art form. Join Day de Dada to illustrate your “perfect Staten Island moment” with a variety of materials and explore the borough’s history as a vacation destination through the postcard collection.

Good on Paper: Intro to Papermaking
2022-08-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Summer Nights
$35/$30 members
Registration required
Curious about papermaking? Join teaching artist Jenya Frid for this introductory workshop. Play with pulp and learn how to produce your own sheets of paper using traditional tools and techniques. We will also explore the creative possibilities of adding different natural dyes and fibers.

Yes, And Artist Talk: Nathan Kensinger
2022-10-08 14:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with museum admission
Nathan Kensinger is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores hidden urban landscapes, off-limits industrial structures, forgotten waterways, environmental disasters, and coastal communities endangered by sea level rise and climate change. He has been documenting Staten Island’s coastline for the past 15 years, and his film Managed Retreat, about the NY State buyout program, is a part of the exhibit Yes, And. Join the artist for a discussion of his work encompassing photography, film, installation, curation and journalism.
Photo by Nate Dorr
Nathan Kensinger was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and is now based in Brooklyn, New York. Since 2003, Kensinger has created a series of photo essays, documentary films, video installations and public arts projects about New York City’s changing waterfront. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum, Staten Island Museum, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and in numerous galleries. His films have screened at museums and film festivals worldwide, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Danish Film Institute, DOC NYC, Slamdance, and Rooftop Films. His work has been featured by The New Yorker, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour, Wired, and Nature Climate Change. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Library and the Museum of the City of New York.
Support for this program is provided by The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation.

Archtober Presentation: Nature-Based Solutions and the Built Environment
2022-10-13 18:30 - 19:30 | Online Live Event, * Please register.
Registration Required
Free/Donations welcome
Donate Here
Join MIT graduate student James Vincent Brice to learn more about the complex environmental processes embedded within the built environment, and how nature-based solutions can increase the physical, ecological, and social resilience of our coastlines in the face of global climate change.
Photo courtesy of MIT News
James Vincent Brice is a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) pursuing a Master of Architecture with research co-advised in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Before coming to MIT, he worked as a zookeeper and aquarist at the Staten Island Zoo, responsible for the care of terrestrial and aquatic animal life. Pulling from this professional experience and a BS in Applied Physics (RPI ’16), he has been exploring the integration of architecture, urban ecology and environmental fluid mechanics.

Archtober [ärk’töbər] is New York City’s Architecture and Design Month, the annual festival of architecture activities, programs and exhibitions taking place during the month of October.

Open House New York Weekend: This Green Building - Behind the Scenes Tour
2022-10-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with museum admission
Join us on this behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s closed-loop geothermal system, which uses the Earth’s constant temperature and a series of circulating pumps to heat and cool the building, minimizing the need for fossil fuels. The Staten Island Museum is the first historic landmark building on Staten Island to earn LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Open House New York Weekend is an annual festival that opens hundreds of noteworthy or significant places across the five boroughs for three days of in-person and virtual tours, talks, and special activities.

Family History Workshop with the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
2022-10-30 13:00 - 15:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with museum admission
In celebration of Family History Month, join Debbie-Ann Paige and Robin Semple, Co-Presidents of the Staten Island Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, to learn how to start a journey into your family history.
This workshop will introduce methods and resources for family history research including new online collections from the Staten Island Museum and Frederick Douglass Memorial Park.
Bring your own laptop or tablet.
This program is supported with generous funding from New York Community Trust.

Family History Workshop Resources

Yes, And Artist Talk / Conversatorio de Sí, Y (Yes, And): Arlette Cepeda
2022-11-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
Bilingual (Spanish/English)
Click the video to the right to watch the recorded program.
Join Yes, And artist Arlette Cepeda for an exploration of her creative practice and the importance of community and representation. Her artwork amplifies details that go unnoticed and creates a narrative based on personal experiences. Community engagement and accessibility are at the heart of her work and align with her professional goals as an administrator.
Bilingüe (Español/Inglés)
Gratis con admisión del Museo
Acompañe a la artista Arlette Cepeda de Yes, And (Sí, Y) en una exploración de su práctica creativa y la importancia de la comunidad y la representación. Su obra amplifica detalles que pasan desapercibidos y crea una narrativa basada en experiencias personales. El compromiso con la comunidad y la accesibilidad están en el centro de su trabajo y se alinean con sus objetivos profesionales como administradora.
Arlette Cepeda by Imara moore Photography
Arlette Cepeda is an NYC visual artist of Dominican descent. Cepeda’s artwork has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, DR; at the Staten Island Museum, Wagner College’s Spotlight Gallery and NYPL St. George Library Center. Currently, she is the Deputy Director of La Colmena Community Job Center working to improve the lives of immigrant day laborers, domestic workers, and other low wage workers.
Brought to you with support from the Staten Island Advance/SI Live

NEW DATE! Crafternoons: Wool Felting and Dying
2023-01-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
New Series!
$25/$20 members (includes museum admission)
Join fiber artist and Manager of Exhibitions, Donna Pagano for this hands-on woolen workshop. In this 2-hour class, we will go over the tools and techniques needed to create felt balls. Then we will string them together, add tassels, and finish it with a few drops of essential oil to create a diffuser for your car, home, or keychain! Participants will also try their hand at dying wool. The same materials and techniques can be used to create garlands, too! All tools and materials are provided, plus extra to take home.
Please note: this program was originally scheduled for Saturday, December 10 and has been moved to Saturday, January 14.
Donna Pagano
Donna Pagano (Poddery) is a fiber and natural forms artist. She has been working with natural forms for over 20 years, and has been interested in wool for more than 10 years. Working with wool and seed pods are her passion. Sourcing her materials locally, she uses the natural forms to create beautiful and functional objects.

'Yes, And' - artists' panel | Impact and Inspiration: The Life of James Zappalorti
2023-01-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Online
To view the recorded talk, click the video on the right.
Donations welcome
This discussion centers on the memory of Staten Islander James Zappalorti and the ways in which his unfortunate death created and continues to inspire social change. It also addresses the current alarming trends of violence against LGBTQ+ people specifically impacting transgender and gender non-conforming people in New York City and across the country.
Join Yes, And artists Terry S. Hardy (who created the James Zappalorti Memorial Mandala) and Paul Moakley (who is working on a documentary short about James to be released in 2023), James’ brother Robert Zappalorti, and NYC Anti-Violence Executive Director Beverly Tillery – in conversation with selection panelist Ed Woodham – followed by a Q&A.
From the LGBT Historic Sites Project (www.nyclgbtsites.org):
Brooklyn-born James “Jimmy” Zappalorti (1945-1990) was a Vietnam War veteran who grew up in the neighborhood of Charleston on Staten Island’s South Shore. On January 22, 1990, he was murdered near his home because he was gay. The highly publicized murder became the borough’s first officially-designated gay hate crime and helped lead to New York State’s first hate crimes bill, which passed in 2000.
Jimmy Zappalorti on graduation from Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, 1963. Courtesy of the Zappalorti family.
About James Zappalorti:
James “Jimmy” Zappalorti (1945-1990) was a disabled Vietnam War veteran who grew up in the neighborhood of Charleston on Staten Island’s South Shore. On January 22, 1990, he was murdered near his home because he was gay. This highly publicized crime led to increased efforts to pass a statewide hate crime law, which was ultimately enacted in 2000.
About the panelists:
Terry S. Hardy addresses themes of identity, human rights, sexuality, and religion, examining social concerns through painting, sculpture, performance, and installations. His most recent work focuses on the intimacy of loss and memorializing those who are forgotten. His work has been included in over 80 exhibitions in venues throughout the US and abroad, including the Lincoln Center in New York, The Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, and The Historic Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery, AL. Hardy has presented large-scale public works at the Art Prospect Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, The Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta, GA, and in Art in Odd Places in New York and Sydney, Australia.
Paul Moakley is an award-winning journalist who is currently the executive producer of The New Yorker video, formerly the deputy director of photography and special projects at TIME. His work stems from a passion for photography and storytelling, takes shape in collaborative documentary projects using his skills as a photo editor, producer, director, and writer. He is currently working on a documentary around the life of James Zappalorti and hate crime law to be released in 2023.
He’s earned numerous awards, including an Emmy for the interactive, multi-platform project and HBO film Beyond 9/11, an ASME award for the short film Life After Addiction, first place in World Press, Photo for the short film Behind the Video of Eric Garner’s Deadly Confrontation With New York Police among many others. Moakley has worked as an educator at the School of Visual Arts. He contributes to his community as the caretaker and curator of the Alice Austen House museum.
Beverly Tillery is the Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, an organization that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence, and supports survivors through counseling and advocacy. She is an experienced social justice thought leader, advocate, and national organizer.
Ed Woodham (moderator) is an elder queer who has been active in community art, education, and civic interventions across media and culture for over forty-five years. A visual and performance artist, curator, and educator Woodham employs humor, irony, subtle detournement, and a striking visual style in order to encourage greater consideration of – and provoke deeper critical engagement with – the urban environment. In 2005 he founded New York City’s only artist-run independent public art project, Art in Odd Places (AiOP), produced annually each autumn on 14th Street in Manhattan. AiOP has also been produced in Los Angeles CA, Boston MA, Indianapolis IN, Greensboro NC, and Orlando, FL in the U.S.; Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Sydney, Australia.
Robert T. Zappalorti is the older brother of James “Jimmy” Zappalorti. In 2014, he wrote Stained Glass Windows: The Life and Death of Jimmy Zappalorti: The hate crime that shocked a city and changed the law. In this book, Robert tells Jimmy’s story in his own voice: that of a brother who was Jimmy’s protector in life and champion after his death, whose efforts continue to keep his legacy alive and help maintain the fight for LGBT rights.
Robert T. Zappalorti founded Herpetological Associates, Inc. (HA) in the spring of 1977. The firm specializes in the conservation and ecology of threatened and endangered amphibians and reptiles. He specializes in conservation and mitigation plans and was the first herpetologist to build hibernacula for snakes and other wildlife in natural habitat areas. Robert has also conducted wildlife inventories, intensive herpetological studies, and the presence or absence surveys for a variety of clients.

Reimagining Staten Island: A guided brainstorm with Jahtiek Long
2023-03-23 18:30 - 20:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
SOLD OUT
Doors open at 6pm
Free. Donations Welcome
Donate
Join us for an evening of connection and ideation with artists and community stakeholders expanding the narrative around Staten Island. Community discourse is served alongside soft drinks and small bites. Ideas gathered from around the table will be entered in the Museum’s archive.

They Did What! Using Genealogy to Uncover Our African American Past
2023-06-17 10:00 - 11:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Space is limited. Registration required.
Free. Donations welcome.
Light refreshments provided.
Join public historian and professional genealogist Debbie-Ann Paige to answer the question “How do we find our people?” Discover how deeds, census records, letters, and other historic documents help uncover family history. Learn what will be important to future generations while exploring what those who have come before left behind. Participants will gain knowledge about genealogical research tools and methods in order to begin uncovering their own family story.
This program is produced in partnership with the Staten Island Community Alliance as part of the 3rd Annual Juneteenth Festival. Learn more about the festival here.

Vulnerable Landscapes: Artist Talk
2023-10-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with Museum Admission
Join us for a panel discussion around the relationship between the built and natural environment with James Vincent Brice, Nathan Kensinger, Sarah Nelson Wright, and Nate Dorr whose work is featured in Vulnerable Landscapes. Moderated by Idea Reid.
Idea Reid is a student at Barnard College, dancer, and activist from Staten Island. She co-founded an environmental justice club at her high school, leading rallies, workshops, and climate justice teach-ins with the former NYC Director of Sustainability. Idea fights for climate policy as an intern at the Climate Museum, brings attention to the injustice facing Staten Island’s waterfront as a member of the Environmental Justice Coalition, and conveys her passion for people and the earth through art as a member of the Young Lordes Collective.
Born and raised in NYC, James Vincent Brice is a designer and engineering-scientist pursuing a dual Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before MIT, he worked as a zookeeper and aquarist for the Staten Island Zoo, responsible for the care of both terrestrial and aquatic animal life. Pulling from this professional experience and a BS in Applied Physics (RPI ‘16), he explores the integration of architecture, urban ecology and environmental fluid mechanics. His research focuses on wave-structure interaction and the design of nature-based coastal protection strategies. By applying knowledge of biophysical interactions in aquatic ecosystems to urban waterfront adaptation, he’s investigating how climate-adaptive design can strengthen a multispecies understanding of coastal community resilience.
Nathan Kensinger is an interdisciplinary artist and journalist whose work explores hidden urban landscapes, off-limits industrial structures, forgotten waterways, environmental disasters, and coastal communities endangered by sea level rise and climate change. He has been documenting New York City’s coastline for the past 20 years, and his film Managed Retreat, about the NY State buyout program, was featured in the Staten Island Museum’s exhibit “Yes, And.” His photo essays, films, public art projects and video installations have been exhibited and screened internationally at museums and galleries, including the Museum of the City of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum, National Museum of Cinema in Italy, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and Danish Film Institute. Learn more.
Sarah Nelson Wright is a Brooklyn based artist and educator from the San Francisco Bay Area. She creates media projects about the urban experience that explore the changing city and investigate avenues for intervention. Her work encompasses video, installation, interactive media, and public art.
Her projects have been exhibited internationally in galleries and festivals, including the Queens Museum (NY), Staten Island Museum (NY), Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (New York), Mostra de Artes (Sao Paulo, Brazil), ACVic Center for Contemporary Arts (Vic, Spain), UnionDocs (NY), Art at the BlueLine (NY), Conflux Festival (NY), Dumbo Arts Festival (NY), Proteus Gowanus (NY), AHA Fine Arts (NY), and Radiator Gallery (NY). Learn more.
Nate Dorr’s work seeks out discontinuities, fault lines, and interstitial spaces, all the places where the unseen city springs unexpectedly into view and deep interactions between architecture, environment, history, and socioeconomic systems may be more readily observed. Learn more.
Major sponsorship of Vulnerable Landscapes is provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation and by National Grid.
Vulnerable Landscapes is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Veterans Day with Lorna Harris and The (G)eneration Project
2023-11-11 12:00 - 14:30 | Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY, 10301, United States
Free with Museum Admission
Admission is free to active duty and retired veterans with ID and up to 4 family members, year-round
Join us for a day of unity, acknowledgement, and appreciation as we commemorate the enduring spirit of immigrants and veterans with The (G)eneration Project. This remarkable occasion pays heartfelt tribute to Staten Island participants from all branches of the U.S. Military and welcomes guest speaker and devoted American veteran, John McBeth. This day of unity aims to encapsulate the enduring spirit of both immigrants and veterans, fostering connections that transcend backgrounds and origins.
A light brunch, courtesy of Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton will be served. Guests will enjoy performances by the Susan E. Wagner Guitar Ensemble, and the JROTC Color Guard. Participants will discover shared areas of commonality through an afternoon of conversation, community, and art making. Immigrants Are Us: The (G)eneration Project will be proudly hosted by Lorna Harris, an executive producer, cultural advocate, and a valued member of the Staten Island community.

John McBeth
About Guest Speaker John McBeth
John McBeth, a devoted American veteran, hails from three generations of Staten Islanders and embodies a lifelong spirit of service. As a McKee High School alumnus, he commenced his journey by volunteering, nurturing his passion for community and journalism. McBeth proudly served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Nimitz, achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class.
As an American veteran, McBeth continues to contribute to discussions on police reforms and community-police relations, representing the community on panels discussing race, justice, and equality. His work co-founding Staten Island YOUTH4justice, initiating voting-focused marches, and leading discussions on police-community relations reflects his commitment to positive change and community betterment.

New York City, home to a vibrant tapestry of cultures, proudly boasts a foreignborn population representing 38% of its populace and accounting for 46% of the labor force. The (G)eneration Project introduced the concept of (G) Status, ranging from G-0s to G-600, to symbolize the generations individuals or families have resided in the U.S.
This event is made possible by a DCLA Art Fund Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
