City of Water Day

On City of Water Day, artists Alethea Pace and Nathan Kensinger led a guided journey along the Harlem River waterfront in Mill Pond Park. Nathan shared a historical photography tour the site, looking at the layers of industry and infrastructure which have impeded access to the shoreline. Alethea invited audiences into an interactive, improvisational movement performance that opened space for reflecting on personal and collective relationships to the river. Participants documented their reflections through polaroid photography and writing, responding to the prompts "The Harlem River says..." and "What parts of yourself do you see reflected in the Harlem River?". Their words are interwoven into the video presented here, alongside selected photographs and text, forming a collective portrait of movement, memory, and place.

Director | Alethea Pace
Costumes | Mauricio Barrera

Mask Construction | Katherine Miranda
Creative Producer | Dria Brown

Project Support | Kip Silva

Videographer | Marquis Bradshaw

Performers | Imani Gaudin, Alethea Pace, Richard Rivera

Text | Generated by audience participants, read by Alethea Pace

"A light sound that’s hard to see. I couldn’t hear it that well but it sounded like it wanted to be left alone or something because it sounds like it is just at peace and doesn’t wanna bother anyone."

"When I walked to the circle of flowers, a rodent’s head popped up from under the slab. I startled it and it popped back in. Then a wake of waves came from under the train tracks. I hear the calming lap of the waves hitting the shore’s rocks. Then, quiet. The Harlem river shows me everything changes."

"I was asked if I heard the water. I couldn’t then. But, when I walked to the edge, I could hear the water against the rocks. The earth needs water and water needs the earth. When I threw the stone in I saw many ripples. That reminded me how we’re constantly moving. We never stop."

"I see the more hopeful and optimistic version of myself in the Harlem River. Just as the government has finally started to care for and invest in the Harlem River, and its surrounding community, so too have I started to invest in myself and my own well-being."

This event was conducted as part of the Harlem River Artist in Residence program, which is supported by the Harlem River Coalition, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, and the Bronx Council for the Arts.

City of Water Day is a region-wide day of free, family-friendly events organized by Waterfront Alliance and New York–New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP). Dozens of communities across all five boroughs, Westchester and Rockland counties, and New Jersey host events on and near the water that celebrate the importance of a resilient and equitably shared waterfront.