River Years: A Black Gotham Experience

Open at all times

See the schedule for island hours.

Riv­er Years is a free, self-guid­ed Black Gotham Expe­ri­ence audio tour writ­ten by Kamau Ware, com­mis­sioned by Cre­ative Time and Gov­er­nors Island Arts on the occa­sion of Mov­ing Chains. Riv­er Years explores the colo­nial pat­terns that have informed a cen­­turies-long rela­tion­ship with what are known today as the East Riv­er, the Hud­son Riv­er, and New York Har­bor. Start­ing from the fer­ry ter­mi­nal at Sois­sons Land­ing and end­ing at the base of Out­look Hill, Riv­er Years pulls out key moments in New York his­to­ry that ask, what is the transat­lantic slave trade to a river?

Stops on the audio tour:

1. Sois­sons Landing
2. Carder Road next to Island Oyster
3. Water­front Prom­e­nade out­side Cas­tle Williams
4. Water­front Prom­e­nade out­side the Week­end Win­ter Dog Park
5. Water­front Prom­e­nade out­side Col­lec­tive Retreats
6. At Mov­ing Chains

ABOUT BLACK GOTHAM EXPE­RI­ENCE
Estab­lished in 2010 by artist/​historian Kamau Ware, Black Gotham Expe­ri­ence cre­ates media at the inter­sec­tion of schol­ar­ship and aes­thet­ics that illus­trates the impact of the African Dias­po­ra miss­ing from col­lec­tive con­scious­ness as well as the pub­lic square. Black Gotham Expe­ri­ence reimag­ines the spaces direct­ly impact­ed by the African Dias­po­ra as human sto­ries explored through inter­ac­tive walks, talks, events, and art. The heart of these expe­ri­ences are five core sto­ries that revis­it Man­hat­tan in 1623 and move for­ward through three cen­turies: Oth­er Side of Wall Street, Sarah’s Fire, Caesar’s Rebel­lion, Cit­i­zen Hope, and State of Mir­rors.