July 13 | 11am–5pm | Free General Admission
Join the Seaport Museum, Waterfront Alliance, and fellow climate-conscious partners for the 17th annual City of Water Day, which provides programs and activities across the region that champion a climate-resilient New York and New Jersey Harbor.
For this special initiative, the Museum joins dozens of communities across all five boroughs, Westchester and Rockland counties, and northern New Jersey who will host events on and near the water that celebrate the importance of a resilient and equitably shared waterfront.
Take advantage of free General Admission to the Museum throughout the day, which will allow you to explore the exhibitions in the introduction galleries at 12 Fulton Street and two historic ships moored at Pier 16.
Advanced registration for free General Admission to the Museum is suggested but walk-ups will be accommodated as possible.
Access to Wavertree involves climbing a few stairs, walking up an angled gangway, and descending a few stairs onto the deck. The lower decks are accessible via stairs, while the upper deck requires navigating steep ladder-like stairs.
Please Note This is a Past Program, Event, or Activity
You are viewing an archived page for a program, event, or activity that has already taken place. In most cases these pages are no longer actively maintained and because of that may contain inaccurate or out-of-date information. These pages are left publicly viewable to preserve institutional memory and to allow the public to learn more about the types of programs, activities, and content created and made available by the South Street Seaport Museum throughout its history.
Oceanic Sound Seminar: Sailor’s Dreamtime
July 13, 14 | 11am–5pm | Wavertree | Free with General Admission
Come aboard the tall ship Wavertree to experience artist Dylan Gauthier’s captivating sound installation curated by Sydnee Novack. This immersive, ecologically-focused artwork delves into the intricate relationships between humans, plants, and animals within hydrologic environments, showcasing the dynamic soundscapes shaped by tides and flows.
Attendees will experience a multi-sensory journey through the convergence of human, animal, and natural sounds, offering a unique perspective on our shared ecological tapestry. Discover the relationships between lagoons, marshes, wet edges, and infrastructure as the sound installation reveals the precarious footing that liveaboards, sailors, and bivalves maintain in the changing tide.
This two-day program features a series of compositions highlighting the ephemeral beauty and complexity of aquatic ecosystems, inviting listeners to contemplate the profound interconnectedness of life within these environments.
The installation marks the beginning of an international program that will travel from New York to Venice, Italy, and Lagos, Nigeria. This sound installation is free with General Admission on Saturday, July 13 and included in Pay What You Wish General Admission on Sunday, July 14. No additional registration required. Stop by the red tent at Pier 16 anytime from 11am–4:30pm to participate.
Atlanta to the Atlantic: Connecting Communities
July 13, 14 | 11am–5pm | Wavertree | Free with General Admission
Venture into the Captain’s Saloon of the historic 1885 cargo ship Wavertree for a unique addition to your City of Water Day self-guided tour. Here, you can watch video highlights from the artwork of Rachel Parish and Sarah Cameron Sunde, presented by Flux Projects in partnership with the South River Watershed Alliance.
Through sharing their artistic journey, Parish and Sunde aim to bring residents closer to the water flowing through their neighborhoods and to strengthen community understanding of improving water quality and enhancing environmental health. The work focuses on the South River, which begins in Atlanta and flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean. Despite its significance, many Atlantans are unaware of its existence. In 2021, American Rivers classified the South River as the fourth most endangered river in the United States.
The project, “Atlanta to the Atlantic,” seeks to raise awareness of the South River and its environmental challenges. Through video highlights, you’ll see how the footage documents a deeply personal connection to the water and explores how water connects us all to the larger world. Don’t miss this chance to gain a deeper understanding of our vital waterways and their impact on our lives.
This video installation is free with General Admission on Saturday, July 13 and included in Pay What You Wish General Admission on Sunday, July 14. No additional registration required. Stop by the red tent at Pier 16 anytime from 11am–4:30pm to participate.
Low-Movement Ritual
July 13 | 2pm | Pier 16 | Free
For City of Water Day, experience a timely ritual with Indigenous ecosomatic artist moira williams. This 35-minute accessible, low-movement event curated by Sydnee Novack will take place near the water and open sky. The artist will provide elder and willow branches tied with eel grass, along with oyster shells. These sacred natural elements invite you to connect with our waterways through touch and sound, deepening your ecological awareness.
Blankets will be available for attendees to sit, stretch out, and lay on throughout the ritual. Join us for this special opportunity to engage with nature and explore ecological connections in a serene setting. No registration needed. This activity takes place outdoors at Pier 16 and walk-ups are welcome.
A Shore Thing: Squatting a NYC Sacrifice Zone
July 13 | 3:30pm | 207 Water Street | Free
Important Update
Due to expected high temperatures and high heat indices in NYC, the Seaport Museum, in coordination with program partners, has decided to postpone this film screening and reschedule for another date later this season. A new date is not yet confirmed.
Sign up today for the premiere screening of the short documentary “A Shore Thing: Squatting a NYC Sacrifice Zone” by Brando Productions. This 15-minute film, curated by Sydnee Novack, offers a unique perspective on New York City’s water community, focusing on an area deemed “Industry River.”
The documentary begins by noting that “‘Industry River’ is a sacrifice zone permanently devastated by capitalism through a combination of industrial pollution and Combined Sewage Overflows” and features an interview with a local resident who lives on a houseboat in this area, which is not zoned for residences. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a powerful film that sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of life in New York City.
A Q&A will follow the screening. Advanced registration for this free event is suggested but walk-ups will be accommodated as possible.
WindShipped
July 13 | 5pm | 207 Water Street | Free
Important Update
Due to expected high temperatures and high heat indices in NYC, the Seaport Museum, in coordination with program partners, has decided to reschedule this screening for Wednesday, September 25, at 6:30pm. Reserve your space for the new date below.
Join us for the City of Water Day screening of the 39-minute documentary film “WindShipped,” presented in partnership with Waterfront Alliance and Climate Film Festival.
“WindShipped” tells the story of how one man’s quixotic dream turned into reality. For the past five years, the schooner Apollonia has been delivering goods up and down the Hudson River by sail, including deliveries to South Street, reminiscent of a time when numerous boats sailed the river daily. We will learn how their buyers have shown a preference for this non-polluting method of delivery.
A thought-provoking panel discussion with the filmmakers and Apollonia crew will follow the screening. Advanced registration for this free event is suggested but walk-ups will be accommodated as possible.
Sail New York Harbor
1pm, 4pm, 7pm | Pier 16 | $20–$70
Looking for a truly unforgettable adventure on the high seas? Join the Seaport Museum for a thrilling 2-hour daytime or sunset sail through the stunning New York Harbor.
With an experienced crew at the helm, you’ll watch in awe as the sails of the 1885 schooner Pioneer unfurl and the ship glides effortlessly across the sparkling waters. And, if you’re feeling adventurous, you’ll even have the chance to lend a hand and help raise the sails yourself! But don’t worry if you prefer to sit back and simply soak up the breathtaking scenery—you’re welcome to relax on the deck and enjoy the ride.
Advanced registration is encouraged. Tickets for daytime sails range from $20–$50 and sunset sails range from $30–$70. If you don’t see tickets for a specific time, that sail has reached capacity.
City of Water Day Pioneer Sail Schedules
Daytime 1pm Sail
Check In Begins: 12pm
Check In Ends: 12:45pm
Board: 12:45pm
Depart: 1pm
Return: 3pm
Daytime 4pm Sail
Check In Begins: 3pm
Check In Ends: 3:45pm
Board: 3:45pm
Depart: 4pm
Return: 6pm
Sunset 7pm Sail
Check In Begins: 6pm
Check In Ends: 6:45pm
Board: 6:45pm
Depart: 7pm
Return: 9pm
Can’t join a schooner sail on City of Water Day? No worries! The Museum offers Pioneer daytime sails each weekend through October. You can also check out our Pioneer sunset sails, offered Thursday–Saturday.
Get Out On the Water
1:15pm, 2:45pm | Pier 16 | $15–$30
Celebrate New York’s waterways with a one-of-a-kind adventure on the last surviving New York-built wooden tugboat W.O. Decker, named “Tugboat of the Year” by the prestigious Steamship Historical Society of America!
Get your tickets today for a 75-minute ride that promises to be an unforgettable experience that takes you through New York Harbor and gives you a unique vantage point to take in stunning views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Battery, and Governors Island.
W.O. Decker can accommodate children ages 10 and up and rides are particularly popular with tweens, teens, and boat enthusiasts.
Advanced registration is encouraged. Tickets for rides range from $15–$30. If you don’t see tickets for a specific time, that sail has reached capacity.
City of Water Day W.O. Decker Ride Schedules
1:15pm Ride
Check In Begins: 12:15pm
Check In Ends: 1pm
Board: 1:05pm
Depart: 1:15pm
Return: 2:30pm
2:45pm Ride
Check In Begins: 1:45pm
Check In Ends: 2:30pm
Board: 2:35pm
Depart: 2:45pm
Return: 4pm
Can’t join a tugboat ride on City of Water Day? No worries! The Museum offers W.O. Decker rides each weekend through October.
Extend Your Visit
To see more that the Museum has to offer, ask Museum staff about our 11am–5pm, free General Admission tickets when you check in.
General Admission tickets include access to all current exhibitions on view in the introduction gallery space at 12 Fulton Street, the Raise the Sails Aboard Wavertree family activity, and access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Free timed tickets for a tour of the 1908 lightship Ambrose are available separately at no additional cost.
About the Artists
Jon Bowermaster is a writer, filmmaker and adventurer and a six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council. One of the Society’s ‘Ocean Heroes,’ his first assignment for National Geographic Magazine was documenting a 3,741 mile crossing of Antarctica by dogsled. Bowermaster has written eleven books and produced/directed more than thirty documentary films. His feature documentaries include ‘Dear President Obama,’ ‘Antarctica, on the Edge,’ ‘After the Spill’ and ‘Ghost Fleet.’ His National Geographic-sponsored Oceans 8 project took him and his teams around the world by sea kayak over the course of ten years (1999–2008), bringing back stories from the Aleutian Islands to French Polynesia, Gabon to Tasmania, and more, reporting on how the planet’s one ocean and its various coastlines are faring in today’s busy world.
Dylan Gauthier (he/him/his), works in a range of media including sound, performance, video, sculpture, architecture, and photography. Gauthier’s research-based and collaborative projects explore the intersections between ecology, architecture, landscape, and environmental justice. Dylan’s individual and collective projects have been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, the Parrish Art Museum, the Brandywine Museum of Art, CCVA at Harvard University, the 2016 Biennial de Paris (Beirut), the Center for Architecture, The International Studio and Curatorial Program, the Chimney, the Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase, Columbus College of Art and Design, the Walker Art Center, and EFA Project Space, in addition to other venues in the US and abroad.
Rachel Parish is an Atlanta-based interdisciplinary artist who works with diverse ecologies of collaborators, including humans, non-humans, and their histories. Whether creating performances in London, developing art-based compassion trainings with the NYPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team, or designing creative placemaking programs in Atlanta, her work draws from conceptual and social practice, bringing together complex and often divided communities to guide them through collaborative co-creative processes. Parish’s visual and performance art has been shown at venues internationally including Tate Britain, de Young Museum, Lyric Hammersmith, Battersea Arts Centre, and the Woodruff Art Center, as well as in public spaces such as train stations, community centers, homes for the elderly, streets, and in schools. Parish is currently a Spillways Fellow at Antenna (New Orleans), the Inaugural Artist in Residence at the Vlerick Business School (Belgium), and a Scholar-in-Residence with Art on the Atlanta BeltLine.
Sarah Cameron Sunde is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and director, who works in performance, video, conceptual and participatory public art—investigating scale and duration in relation to the human body, water, ecological crisis, and deep time. Her work was presented at the Seaport Museum in 2024 as part of New York Water Week. She was awarded a 2021 John Simon Memorial Guggenheim Fellowship to complete her series of nine performances and video works made on six continents: 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea (2013–2022). Sunde’s work is part of an emerging field of environmental art made on, in, and with water and is presented nationally and internationally. Solo exhibitions include The Georgia Museum of Art (Athens, GA), Oude Kerk (Amsterdam) and Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery (Auckland). Other honors include MAP Fund, Princess Grace Award, NYSCA, NEA, and ongoing support from Invoking the Pause. She is Jon Fosse’s American-English theatrical translator/director, instigator/co-founder of Works on Water, and a Cultural Leader with the World Economic Forum.
moira williams (they/them) is a disabled Indigenous artist, cross-disability cultural activist, and access doula; co-creating and weaving disability justice together with crip celebratory resistance and environmental justice. williams believes in access as art and “access intimacy” as an attitude needed to push beyond the limitations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Their often co-creative work leads with disability, stemming from the understanding that deep-rooted cultural changes must be made in arts and environmental spaces and practices to become accessible. One part of affecting change is by placing disabled artists and activists in positions of influence to shape culture from within. Another part is acknowledging that entering positions of power is not the end goal. Instead, the end goal is to co-create an active culture where power positions no longer exist.
Ready for more?
Head over to our Programs and Events page to see what else is happening at the Museum. Sign up for an upcoming talk, learn more about visiting Wavertree, or explore our virtual offerings.