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.

Episode 1 of the Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio is out now!

Shaolin Art Party on Maker Park Radio: podcast launch announcement!

Sound and performance artist Marisa Tornello gives insights into their creative process for upcoming performance, s(o)(e)wing which premieres at the Newhouse Center on November 22, 2024.

In this exclusive interview, Michael Leavy, co-producer of Terrifier 3 and director of STREAM, reveals how Staten Island's indie filmmakers are redefining indie horror. He discusses how the island’s talent and resources are breaking barriers in the global creative scene, with projects like Terrifier 3 setting new records and shining a spotlight on the borough’s creative potential.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Sophie Blue on the eve of the new EP release, Elysium.

In the final of three installments, Brian Buchanan explores the music landscape of Staten Island and advocates for a venue to serve audiences on the South Shore.

Theatre artists on Staten Island often find themselves at a disadvantage that colleagues in other parts of the world don’t seem to suffer; their proximity to Manhattan. The skyline looms over us. For many, it’s a constant reminder of a “professional” world across the bay. So close, yet so far. 

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Roemello Agjmurati, aka Printmello. Roemello Agjmurati is a Staten Island based Graphic Designer who graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2019 and has since worked for companies like Verizon, Yahoo, and Walmart doing digital product & editorial design crafting unique web experiences and interactive stories. Roemello owes his grittier design style to his background playing guitar in punk / emo bands.

Can you taste it? Is that steaming hot cup of java simmering and wafting? You think to yourself, What ingredients does it possess and was it made lovingly? Who is pouring it? What’s the intention? Like any sought-after food and drink recipe, ingredients are key. And just like that, a place you visit with real investment in its community also possesses these ingredients. If you were around in the early 2000s, chances are you could look no further than the Muddy Cup Coffeehouse, which was located at 388 Van Duzer Street in Staten Island’s Stapleton district during the height of the early aughts.

On July 26th, ImpACT Theatre, a non-profit theatre group based in Staten Island, presented an original musical, Pages of Hope, about a young woman whose resilence leads in the face of illness.

In the second of this three-part installment, Brian Buchanan explores the cultural and music landscape of Staten Island.

Melissa West sits down with Rylee Eterginoso, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programs at the Staten Island Museum to talk about art, life, and the word “curator.” They also discuss the Staten Island Museum’s current exhibition, Taking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View Hospital.