Excavating the Future: Erasure in the Past, Present, & Poetic
📚 Join us at the Climate Imaginarium for a poetry workshop.
We’re reminded that knowledge is power when authority figures attempt to censor or limit access to information. Join us at the Climate Imaginarium within the sightline of the Statue of Liberty on Governors Island, one of NYC's few sites with a National Park Service presence. We'll explore the island's history, from the Lenape people to colonial militarization to today’s transformation into a hub of culture and climate activism.
🌳 In this creative writing workshop, participants are invited to:
Write and share poetry
Engage with the outdoors on a guided walk (weather permitting)
Read, listen to, and discuss poetry
Try hands-on erasure poetry exercises with data and historic texts
No prior writing experience is necessary. All are welcome. This workshop is free and open to the public with the option to donate to our volunteer-run organization upon registration. Limited materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own pen and notebook.
🏛️ Poets were our first historians.
Since time immemorial, humans have relied upon storytellers to share cautionary tales and current events. We’re reminded that knowledge is power when authority figures attempt to censor, redact, or otherwise limit our access to information. Today, we’re more likely to turn to poetry for entertainment and seek out history online or in the archives at a library, museum, or historic site.
🗽 Join us within the sightline of the Statue of Liberty to examine history and write your story.
Cross the NY Harbor on the ferry to Governors Island! We will explore the island's own history, from its original stewards, the Lenape people, to 200 years of colonial militarization ending in the 1990s, to today’s transformation into a hub of art, culture, and climate activism alongside designated historic sites managed by the National Park Service.
This summer marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and 110 years since “America’s Best Idea” launched the National Park Service. This year has also witnessed the federal government blatantly censoring American history. As of the 4th of July, 103 signs at NPS-managed sites have been removed or otherwise censored, according to the open-sourced Save Our Signs Archive led by community historians and scientists.
✊ A Fall of Freedom Event
This event is presented in partnership with Fall of Freedom, a nationwide cultural movement uniting artists, institutions, and communities in celebration of creative expression and in defiance of authoritarianism.
Under the banner of the Fall of Freedom series, cultural spaces across the nation are staging events in October to celebrate artistic expression in the face of censorship.
As part of this campaign and in conjunction with this poetry workshop, we invite you to experience Witness to Change, our climate art exhibition curated in opposition to the obfuscation, erasure, and dismantlement of climate data by authoritarian forces.
🌍 About the Climate Imaginarium
The Climate Imaginarium is a center for climate, community, and culture in New York City. Located on Governors Island, the Climate Imaginarium is activating a cultural destination at the heart of New York City’s burgeoning green economy, where artists, scientists, advocates, and storytellers come together to reimagine and build toward a more resilient future.
Suggested donation is $10 to support our community space at the Climate Imaginarium, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
⛵ Getting to the Climate Imaginarium
For the weekend ferry schedule to Governors Island, please check here. Ferries run every 15 minutes. Take the ferry that’s most convenient for you from either Lower Manhattan (10 South Street), Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 6), or Red Hook/Atlantic Basin. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your ferry departure time with your ticket ready to display.
Ferry tickets must be purchased at the ferry terminal or online. Fares are $5 for a round trip ticket and free for adults over 65, children 12 and under, Climate Imaginarium summer volunteers, and others. All passengers ride free before 11am on weekends. Cars are not permitted.
Governors Island is also accessible from any route via NYC Ferry by transferring at Wall Street/Pier 11. You can find the NYC Ferry schedule here. Tickets on NYC Ferry are $4.50 each way.
Once you get to Governors Island, you will either get out at Soissons Landing (from Manhattan) or Yankee Pier (from Brooklyn). You can use this map of Governors Island to locate Colonels Row. The Climate Imaginarium is in Building 406A, in the middle of Colonels Row, and will have a visible sign outside the doorway. Our address is 406A Comfort Road.