ArtsWestchester Brings Boats Ashore for New Boat Building Exhibition

 From Shore to Shore: Boat Builders and Boatyards of Westchester and Long Island opens January 18.
 
 January 14, 2013, White Plains, NY – Learn everything you ever wanted to know about our region’s rich tradition of boat building at ArtsWestchester’s newest exhibition, From Shore to Shore: Boat Builders and Boatyards of Westchester and Long Island.  From January 18 through March 9, visitors to the gallery at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains will be greeted by life-sized boats, kayaks and a wealth of information about our region’s impressive boating history.  An opening reception will take place on January 17 at 6pm.  For more information, visit: www.artsw.org/from-shore-to-shore.
 
For generations, the boats and ships on our waterways have been an important source of commerce, nourishment, livelihood and transportation.  The craftsmen who build these well-designed, functional vessels contribute to the productivity and sustainability of our everyday society.  In a partnership with Long Island Traditions of Port Washington, NY, this show is a culmination of two years of preparation and field research on the current and historical art of boat building.  From Shore to Shore will fill ArtsWestchester's galleries with a collection of wooden boats, ranging from kayaks to a 16 foot Melonseed Sailboat, all built by local educational boat building programs (Rocking the Boat and Community Boatworks of the Hudson Valley). 
 
Also on display will be a timeline on the history of boat building along the Hudson River and Long Island Shore, tools of the trade and half models.  Information panels about the occupational culture of regional boatyards and master craftsmen will be a fascinating supplement to these displays.  Accompanying the exhibition will be an interactive audio-visual installation, presented on an iPad display.   The installation will feature video interviews with boat builders and profiles of local boatyards, which will all be available on ArtsWestchester’s YouTube account at: www.youtube.com/user/artswestchester.
 
“Contemporary boat builders continue many of the traditions established in previous generations,” says ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam. “From Shore to Shore will blend the traditional and the contemporary; the recreational and utilitarian; form and content.  The exploration of the world of boat building through this educational hands-on approach will help to preserve these important places and practices for future generations.”
 
The boat builders we meet in the show include professionals, amateurs and volunteers, all dedicated to preserving the art form inherited from earlier builders.  From Shore to Shore explores and reflects on over 200 years of regional maritime tradition.  It celebrates traditions passed through generations and still practiced today.  
 
 
Saturday Public Programs
All programs take place in the gallery and are free of charge. 
 
January 19, 2-4pm
Demonstrations of Oar Carving with staff members from Rocking the Boat
Gallery Tours with From Shore to Shore co-curators Nancy Solomon and Tom van Buren
 
February 2, 2pm
Conversation with the Craftsmen
Betty Arink and Phil Schiavone (Bayles Boat Shop), Daryl Eason (Julius Petersen Boatyard) and Maurice Piot (New Rochelle Marina).
 
February 9, 2pm
Conversation with maritime Historians and waterfront preservation specialists
Mark Peckham (NY State Office of Historic Preservation), Bonnie Mark (Maritime Historian, Delta Development Group), John Stilgoe (Professor, School of Architecture, Harvard University), Winston Perry (Architect / Historian, Nyack, NY)
 
 This exhibition was curated by folklorists Nancy Solomon (Long Island Traditions) and Tom van Buren (ArtsWestchester). Participating Boatyards:
Consolidated Yachts, City Island
Clarke Boatyard, Greenport
Derecktor Shipyard, Mamaroneck
Greenport Yacht and Shipbuilding
Knutson Boatyard, Huntington
Petersen Boatyard, Nyack
The Hanff Boatyard, Greenport
Westerly Marina, Ossining
 
Boat Builders: 
Ken Brady
Stephen Clarke
Donn Costanzo,
John Costello
Daryl Eason
Peter Heinz
Anders Langendal
Maurice Piot
Russ Watsky 
Educational programs: 
The Bayles Boat Shop, Port Jefferson
The Ida May Project, Oyster Bay
Community Boat Works of the Hudson Valley, Peekskill
Rocking the Boat, Hunts Point, Bronx
 This exhibition is made possible with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Humanities.