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New Exhibit Asks People to Reimagine Staten Island as Its Own Country

By Nicholas Rizzi | October 2, 2014 1:41pm
  "The Great Richmond" game-based exhibit opened this month at the Staten Island Arts Culture Lounge.
'The Great Richmond' Exhibit
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ST. GEORGE — Welcome to the sovereign nation of Staten Island.

A new exhibit at the Staten Island Arts Culture Lounge is sparking debate by asking visitors to reimagine the borough in different situations — including one in which it's seceded from the rest of the United States.

"The goal is to help create a place where these kind of aspirations or conversations could happen," said Monica Valenzuela, deputy director of Staten Island Arts, which organized the show.

"The Great Richmond" installation at the group's space in the St. George Ferry Terminal tries to envision different scenarios for the borough's redevelopment and spark a debate about what people want for Staten Island in the face of a wave of large developments, Valenzuela said.

"The point is to hopefully inspire dialogue around these issues," Valenzuela said. "We are a changing community and kind of headed into what seems like a kind of rapid change of place."

At the exhibit, visitors place large pieces that represent different aspects of community important to them — from government to arts — on tables that reimagine the borough's landscape in radically different ways. They include a more urban borough, one that's rural and one that is its own country — called "Richmondia."

While the maps might be far-fetched — including one showing Staten Island with eight subway lines — Valenzuela said the point is to get people to think about what they deem important for the borough's future, and maybe take an idea or two.

"If something from each of the maps actually existed, would life be that bad?" Valenzuela said. "It's giving people a place to envision their community."

"The Great Richmond" installation will be at the Staten Island Arts Culture Lounge, inside the St. George Ferry Terminal, until Nov. 30.