STATEN ISLAND — The Design Trust for Public Space has picked five artists, designers and planners to work on shaping the way public space looks on the borough's waterfront amid a wave a redevelopment.
The organization teamed up with Staten Island Arts earlier this summer to announce the multi-year project, called "Future Culture: Connecting Staten Island's Waterfront," whose members will be tasked with creating a "cultural plan" for public spaces in the North Shore of Staten Island. The project's five fellows were selected last week.
Through the project, the fellows will create "public art pilots" to test their recommendations and create quarterly newsletters for St. George, Tompkinsville and Stapleton to keep locals updated on their findings and ask for input, the group said.
The selected fellows are Staten Island artist Lisa Dahl, consultant Ben Margolis, photographer Gareth Smit, and designers Margie Ruddick and John Schettino. They will work with residents, city agencies and developers to create, design and plan public space in the area, according to the Design Trust.
"With 'Future Culture,' we're excited to forge new ground to connect the Staten Island arts community, North Shore waterfront developers and key policy makers to envision new opportunities for public space," Susan Chin, executive director of the Design Trust, previously said about the project.
"Capitalizing on the power of the arts to bring people together and drawing on local knowledge, we'll get them actively involved in the development of their neighborhood together."
Dahl was chosen as a participatory art fellow who will organize the community engagement process; Margolis was picked as a policy fellow who will find opportunities for local artists; Ruddick was selected an urban design fellow who will analyze the ecology, natural systems and transportation of the North Shore; Schettino was chosen as a graphic design fellow who will "build an identity for the naturally occurring cultural district" in the neighborhoods; and Smit was picked as a photography fellow who will document the changing landscape of the North Shore.
