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A day-trip to Governors Island is a quintessential part of any New York summer. And while we won't be hopping on the seven-minute ferry to the seasonal sanctuary anytime soon, that doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of the cultural hub's arts programs, exhibitions and flourishing grounds.
You can currently scroll through the island’s weekly updated spring blooms digitally, so as not to miss any of the vivid colors on the grounds. "Governors Island being closed doesn’t stop springtime from sweeping across the landscape," says the Things to Do page on their site. "Beautiful Blooms are appearing across the Island from Soissons Landing to Picnic Point! See more gorgeous spring flowers in this blog post."
Miss live poetry? New Yorkers can enjoy streamed recorded poetry readings from inside Shantell Martin’s immersive installation, The May Room. Last year, The May Room hosted a variety of public poetry reading events, several of which were put on by the Poetry Society of America, showcasing artists from diverse backgrounds. From home, you can watch Puerto Rican poets Raquel Salas Rivera and Ricardo Alberto Maldonado perform moving readings from a poetry collection called Puerto Rico en mi corazón. The collection came as a response to Hurricane Maria and the disaster’s effect on the Puerto Rican population—while it also benefited hurricane relief efforts.
You can also see inspiring work from the LMCC Arts Center resident artists, Aviva Rahmani, Hilary Lorenz, Lize Mogel and Aaron Suggs, spanning visual arts like pinhole photography and outdoor sculptures.
History buffs can tune on for blog posts on the Island's history such as 1918 on Governors Island, the history of the first Post Hospital and a virtual historic photo walking tour on Urban Archive.
Governors Island's partner New Art Dealers Alliance has its member galleries on Artnet. If you're a bird lover, NYC Audubon has digital resources and activities to keep up with NYC’s birding community. In fact, a series of videos taken on Governors Island by avid birder Cathy Weiner will be added later today to their site.
GrowNYC’s Teaching Garden at Governors Island is a one-acre urban farm, which usually has visitors over to learn about urban farming from planting, watering, harvesting and cooking vegetables and fruit. While closed to the public they're also going virtual, with digital resources for kids and adults including guides for indoor gardening, outdoor gardening and cooking tips.