For the fifth year, Waterfront Alliance is organizing a free outdoor art exhibition in Lower Manhattan’s Seaport, harnessing the power of the creative arts to call attention to the dangers of sea level rise and the urgent need for greater resilience. The 2024 Art at the Edge exhibit includes three works:

SHADOWS AT THE WATER’S EDGE, by Singha Hon & Denise Zhou TIDE, by Michael Krondl ANXIETY TOWER, by Sari Nordman

Waterfront Alliance’s Art at the Edge exhibit captures New York and New Jersey artists whose work is thematically tied to climate change and will inspire, inform, and engage the public about the urgency of the climate crisis. The exhibit gives visitors an opportunity to absorb art focused on the climate crisis, including the intersecting themes of coastal resilience, waterfront access, and the region’s maritime culture and history.

Art at the Edge is generously supported by the Seaport and by the South Street Seaport Museum.

"Shadows at the Waters Edge" (2024) by Singha Hon, Denise Zhou “Shadows at the Water’s Edge” is a collection of windows into what was, and what could be, in the area we know today as the Seaport. Draped along the railings of Pier 16, haunting, speculative storytelling elements stitch together layers of colonial and capitalist violence that have amassed to lay waste to air, water, and land. Shadows invites passersby to contend with the necessity of reorienting our relationship to the natural world—severing ourselves from exploitation, ownership, and profit, and inviting collective responsibility, interconnectedness, and repair.

"Tide" (2024) by Michael Krondl Digital print on vinyl 7.5 X 110 feet The subject of Krondl’s work is our troubled relationship with the natural world, as a society and as individuals. Many of his pieces have referenced the consequences of the climate emergency, primarily focusing on the impact of water and drought.

“Tide” interjects a (virtual) tear or crevice into the center of Pie 16, so that the East River seems to be bubbling up and over the surface of the dock—as it undoubtedly will with rising sea levels. Viewers will be put into a situation of having to cross this break in time, this snapshot of the future, to physically participate with the artwork.

"Anxiety Tower" (2024) by Sari Nordman A fiber-arts installation, Anxiety Tower discusses the problems of single-use plastics. The tapestries in the installation are made using recycled plastic film, some of them communally-made. The project seeks to elevate public awareness of the single-use plastics problem, advocate for people to minimize their use, and consider creative recycling and repurposing solutions.

Pier 16, Fulton/Front Streets Map
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