come hang with us! and meet your fellow local artists and art enthusiasts.

This zine was originally printed and given out at Subterranean Cinema Club with Channels & Winds on 11-12-25 for the presentation of Dark Side of The Rainbow. An urban legend of sorts, the idea goes that if you play Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd alongside The Wizard of Oz, the music and the film will sync up moments, moods, and themes, lining up in ways that feel too precise to be accidental, creating something that feels both familiar and entirely new.

Changes Faces: The Mosaic Art of Robert Sherman features 38 pieces by the local artist spanning nearly 50 years.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 7 with Jahtiek Long and Melissa West.

This photo essay by Jahtiek Long captures a night where Staten Island’s underground art scene came alive in celebration of Día de los Muertos and Halloween. Blending drag, aerial artistry, Sword dancing, and DJ sets, the event Días de los Muertos vs. Halloween transformed 4 Willow into a space of vibrant expression, honoring both tradition and individuality. Curated by Nazz Raidence and Forest the Monarch, the night stood as a reminder of how Staten Island continues to carve out its own spaces for art, performance, and community connection.

In this essay, Brian Buchanan examines Staten Island’s interconnected arts scene through the lens of his own uneasy relationship with participation. What begins as guilt over leaving shows early becomes an exploration of community, connection, and how local art and culture can teach us that showing up for others just might be the most radical art form of all.

As part of our Nostalgia & History series, in this essay, Will Gallagher revisits Staten Island’s early 2000s punk scene through the eyes of a South Shore kid discovering his voice. From the quiet streets of Rossville to the life-changing night at L’Amour’s Battle of the Bands, this story captures how one night of local music transformed isolation into belonging—and how Staten Island’s underground culture continues to shape lives far beyond the stage.

In this cultural essay, Jahtiek Long explores Staten Island's paradoxical nature, how the borough is bursting with talent and creativity yet struggles with a lack of space, funding, and support. It celebrates the resilience of local artists and communities while asking what it would take to finally build the cultural scene Staten Island deserves.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 6 with Jahtiek Long and Melissa West.

In this exclusive interview, we speak with Queer Van Kult, a liturgy of performance, installation, and music centered on queer artistry. Imagined as a surreal funhouse of queer taste, the collective creates bold spaces for community, unbounded creativity, and celebration while providing a home for experimental works by local and emerging artists.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 5 with Jahtiek Long.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 4 with Jahtiek Long and guest (musician and S.a.P contributor) Brian Buchanan.

Local sculptor and performance artist DB Lampman takes us on a site-responsive journey that explores the movements and inner lives of beach birds.

In this personal essay, Brian Buchanan reflects on creativity, community, and the strange ache of FOMO. Set against the backdrop of a collaborative music project, the piece explores what it means to witness something beautiful from a distance—and how that tension can fuel both envy and inspiration.

As part of our Nostalgia & History series, this photo essay spotlights photographer Kristopher Johnson and his LUMEN ARCHETYPES—a powerful series capturing the diverse faces and vibrant community of Staten Island’s LUMEN festival. Through his iconic pop-up portrait studio, Kristopher documented the energy and creativity that transformed an industrial waterfront into a dynamic art hub. This essay honors not only Kristopher’s unique vision but also how the groundbreaking festival LUMEN redefined not just Staten Island’s waterfront but also the idea of art as a communal and immersive experience.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 3 with Jahtiek Long and Melissa West.

Remembering Guy Klucevsek, composer and accordionist, who called Staten Island home.

In this interview, we speak with Tony Quera, the Staten Island-based illustrator behind Garbage Dump and Scenes From The Landfill. A lifelong New Yorker, Quera has spent the past decade building a world where surreal characters—often part-object, part-animal, part-human—navigate everyday life in a place called The Landfill. Drawing inspiration from early webcomics, video games, and city life, his work combines humor, introspection, and a unique design language that challenges traditional ideas of what characters—and stories—can look like. Quera shares how Garbage Dump came to life and what it means to create personal art, even if it means pushing back against the algorithm.

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: Episode 2 with Arlette Cepeda

As part of our Nostalgia & History series, Mary Campbell takes us on a journey through Staten Island’s lost venues—once-thriving spaces that nurtured creativity, performance, and community. Staten Island’s underground art scene has thrived in unexpected places—cafés, pop-up spaces, and DIY venues that became creative hubs before vanishing into memory. From the Muddy Cup to Art at Bay, this reflection honors the ephemeral nature of artist-run spaces and the resilience of local creatives who brought them to life.