Good news! I recently received an invitation to a party for the re-opening of South Street Seaport Museum in lower Manhattan. The goings-on down there have been pretty mysterious for the last few months, but it looks like they will be opening back up after all, though there are still lots of questions. If you haven’t been following this at all, the basic story is this: South Street Seaport was New York City’s maritime museum and tall ship livery, located just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. It closed due to poor management last year, and then was taken over by the Museum of the City of New York. No one knew what that was going to mean for either museum or for the thousand-odd-feet of historic vessels. In November, MCNY announced that it would re-open South Street with 20,000 square feet of new exhibits in January 2012. They hired some new staff, or rather MCNY did for South Street, and presumably they didn’t have much of a Christmas break. Haven’t heard much from them, and I don’t know anyone in the maritime heritage community that is working with MCNY. So I am very curious what this invitation-only, 800-person event will consist of. There is now some coverage of what will be on display, such as an exhibit of photographs of the Occupy Wall Street protests. I also know they have reached out to the on-water arts community in NYC. So, it sounds like they are re-branding a bit as a museum of Lower Manhattan and also intend to show where traditional watercraft land in other cultural movements, all of which is encouraging. As for the ships, who knows. There are rumors that some may be sold, like the 377’ barque Peking, but on that I have no info. A good way to keep tabs on the ship collection is the Save Our Seaport blog.
South Street Seaport is open to the public on Thursday morning the 26th of January, and you should go. Let me know what you find out.
theladyfish asked: Hey!
Thanks for the suggestion--I gave a quick glance at the Frying Pan's site and it looks like a pretty cool place. I need to look through their site more closely and learn more about it, but I'd love some help brainstorming my options!
Cool, I’m glad you’re interested. I really don’t know anything about how Frying Pan is run, or what it’s organizational structure is. But they cared enough to get the vessel put on the National Register of Historic Places, so they must have some interest in preservation. Even if they are for-profit, they are still eligible for many grants, and everyone likes free money. The maritime heritage community nationally is undergoing a process of professionalization, and a lot of it is being driven by sparky young people who are interested in curatorial practice and grant-writing. It wouldn’t be hard to raise Frying Pan’s profile nationally—its pretty obscure. I think it should be better known. Vessels like it (Lightships; a “lightship” is just like a “lighthouse” except, like, a ship) are important heritage sites all over the country.
If you’re interested, here’s what I would do: First, go downtown to South Street Seaport Museum and check out their floating exhibit ships. One of them, the Ambrose, is a lightship like Frying Pan. Get some ideas for how these ships are supposed to look, and how they can be preserved and interpreted. Then go to Frying Pan and talk to the folks involved, say you’re interested in museum/archival practices. Maybe they hire you for something. If they don’t, come up with some cool projects, then look at grants from places like IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services), CAMM (Council of American Maritime Museums) and NPS (National Park Service) and find one that your project would fit into. There are probably other, cooler grant-making agencies that are local to NYC. If you win, you have work, and even better, you can write grants. In this economy, thats almost as valuable as a museology degree.
Projects ideas? Documentation of existing structures/details for archival purposes ahead of renovations/alterations. Compiling of existing archival photographs and information from external sources to create an exhibit or publication about the vessels history. Interpretive signage to explain to visitors the function of the vessel, the light and the horn. Renovation of the website to create a more effective interpretive tool. You could partner with South Street or another larger and more professional organization to come up with ideas and strengthen your application.
Sorry, this is kind of a lot to hand a perfect stranger. I don’t know if you’re interested in the history of ships and the sea or not. But I think these basic principles could be applied to many other things. There are lots of small, independent, underfunded non-profits managing historic buildings, film archives, sculpture gardens, etc. etc. Small preservation groups are perpetually in need, and often someone with new energy can come in and make things happen. Find a cause, write a grant, have a paid project you’re interested in. Thats my advice.
[For anyone listening in: Frying Pan is a cool restaurant on a 1929 lightship at Pier 66 in Chelsea, on the west side of Manhattan Island. That is its historic name; it was commissioned for Frying Pan shoals off Cape Fear, NC. Check it out at www.fryingpan.com]
