Governors Island Arts

Gov­er­nors Island Arts, the pub­lic arts and cul­tur­al pro­gram pre­sent­ed by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, cre­ates trans­for­ma­tive encoun­ters with art for all New York­ers, invit­ing artists and researchers to engage with the issues of our time in the con­text of the Island’s lay­ered his­to­ries, envi­ron­ments, and architecture. 

We achieve this mis­sion through:

• Pub­lic Art Com­mis­sions: Long term and tem­po­rary works from mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary artists that are sit­ed with­in Gov­er­nors Island’s park and his­toric landscapes
• Orga­ni­za­tions in Res­i­dence: An annu­al open call invit­ing cul­tur­al orga­ni­za­tions to present exhi­bi­tions, hold free pub­lic pro­grams and host artist res­i­den­cies with­in the Island’s his­toric for­mer mil­i­tary hous­es. Over the next decade, the City of New York and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island will invest in evolv­ing this sea­son­al pro­gram into year-round per­ma­nent homes for cul­tur­al orga­ni­za­tions on Gov­er­nors Island
• Pub­lic Pro­grams: Free events and pro­grams, includ­ing House Fest, the Inter­ven­tions per­for­mance series, and THIRD Sat­ur­days, along with addi­tion­al events pre­sent­ed in part­ner­ship with a diverse range of NYC cul­tur­al organizations 

Gov­er­nors Island Arts presents its pro­gram with the vision­ary sup­port of the Ford Foun­da­tion, as well the Mel­lon Foun­da­tion, the Cha­ri­na Endow­ment Fund, Don­ald R. Mullen Fam­i­ly Foun­da­tion, Stavros Niar­chos Foun­da­tion, Bloomberg Phil­an­thropies, The Gottes­man Fund, Don­ald A. Pels Char­i­ta­ble Trust, the Nation­al Endow­ment for the Arts, and the New York State Coun­cil on the Arts with the sup­port of the Office of the Gov­er­nor and the New York State Legislature.

Explore Arts and Cul­ture on View

Public Art Commissions

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Organizations in Residence

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Upcoming Events and Programs

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Own a one-of-a-kind original artwork created in honor of Other of Pearl on Governors Island

This diptych by Jenny Kendler depicts film stills from the 1922 silent film Down to the Sea in Ships—a whaling ship juxtaposed with the eye of a captured sperm whale. The limited-edition print was created in collaboration with Powerhouse Arts using a specially developed "floating" monoprint technique and iridescent pigments, making each set unique. All proceeds benefit Governors Island Arts programming.

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Cur­rent Opportunities

Propose an outdoor public program or cultural event

Arts and cultural organizations interested in utilizing outdoor space on Governors Island for public programming including performances, art installations and more may submit a proposal here.

Propose an outdoor public artwork

Governors Island Arts presents a limited number of public art projects each year. Artists and organizations interested in showing work on the Island as part of this program are invited to contact the Governors Island Arts team at arts@govisland.org and share a proposal.

Seasonal Organizations in Residence

Organizations in Residence receive access to indoor programming space in one of the historic houses in Nolan Park and Colonels Row where they present free, public programming, as well as host artists, researchers and other creative practitioners. Applications for the 2025 season were due October 20, 2024.

Invest­ment in Gov­er­nors Island Arts advances a key com­po­nent of ​“Rebuild, Renew, Rein­vent: A Blue­print for NYC’s Eco­nom­ic Recov­ery,” May­or Eric Adams’s vision for the future of the city’s econ­o­my. For more infor­ma­tion on the blue­print, vis­it nyc​.gov/​e​c​o​n​o​m​i​c​b​l​u​e​print.