November 22 | 7pm | 192 Front Street | Free
Join the Seaport Museum, in partnership with the Black Gotham Experience (BGX) and Big City Tourism, for an engaging discussion as part of the Council 400 Office Hours series, featuring conversations with pedagogues on themes related to the African Diaspora.
Martina Caruso, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Seaport Museum, will showcase objects from the Museum’s collections and archives, highlighting the critical role of cataloging in museums and cultural institutions. She will examine items that may contain insensitive depictions, outdated terminology, or expressions of bias, and explain how careful cataloging helps address these issues. By exploring how language can shape perceptions and perpetuate systemic discrimination, Caruso will demonstrate how the Museum is committed to responsibly cataloging and presenting rediscovered objects while balancing research needs.
Zak Risinger, Director of Engagement and Public Programs at the Museum, will discuss how this work in collections impacts the Museum’s programming. He will highlight the role of partnerships with cultural organizations and speakers in fostering meaningful conversations around these themes.
Tickets will be distributed through BGX. Visit the BGX website below to get all the details, see the full lineup, and sign up.
Please Note This is a Past Program, Event, or Activity
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About Council 400
Council 400 commemorates the African Diaspora’s impact on the territory of New York City from the Autumn of 1624 to the Autumn of 2024. This is an invitation for scholars, creatives, and healers to meet and remember together at a port that is pivotal to the stories from the colonial era to the present. This investigation will be documented creating an archive for future generations. Activities curated by Black Gotham Experience will take place primarily at BGX Gallery in the Seaport, including a group exhibition, talks, wellness workshops, film screenings, and award-winning historical walks in Manhattan.
About Black Gotham Experience
Black Gotham Experience (BGX) is a creative intervention that elevates the impact of the African Diaspora. BGX established space to revisit untold and suppressed stories through a practice that invites people to walk, talk, and reimagine the past to expand public consciousness. BGX knows that history is not an unbiased collection of records but a cycle of events that we participate in collectively. BGX are creatives building intentional experiences at the intersection of aesthetics and scholarship to learn, heal, and remember together.
Enjoy More That the Museum Offers
Access to the Seaport Museum’s historic ships and exhibition galleries is not included with this event. To explore more that the Museum has to offer, book in advance or ask Museum staff about Pay What You Wish admission tickets, available Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm when you check in.
These tickets grant access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree at Pier 16 and all current exhibitions on view in the introduction galleries inside Schermerhorn Row located at 12 Fulton Street. Timed tours of the 1908 lightship Ambrose at Pier 16 are available separately.
Advance Pay What You Wish tickets for the forthcoming Maritime City exhibition, opening in March 2025 in A.A. Thomson & Co. located at 213 Water Street are now available. Be among the first to explore this exciting new exhibition!
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.