On September 19, 2009 the “Sea Warriors” will launch in the South Street Seaport in New York City. Flags of eleven historical pirates from 230BC to 1930 will fly between Front and Beekman Streets. Pirates such as Koxinga, Queen Teuta, Mary Reade, Captain Kidd, Barbossa, Sir Francis Drake and others will hang from the vintage lampposts throughout the Seaport. “Sea Warriors” is produced in conjunction with the South Street Seaport and is sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts. The public opening will be on Saturday, September 19th, from 4-6pm inside Cannon’s Walk.
For over a hundred years, the South Street Seaport was one of the most important ports in the world, and this project aims to reconnect local New Yorkers with its exciting history. New Amsterdam, the original name for New York, was discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609. The Henry Hudson 400 will mark this anniversary with celebrations in both Amsterdam and New York throughout 2009, and the South Street Seaport Museum will exhibit New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World displaying rare maps, watercolors and letters from that period.
“Sea Warriors” is an interpretive history of eleven pirates and privateers, and raises questions of piracy from present and past. The project also aims to help promote the historical awareness the South Street Seaport. The Seaport stands as a landmark of the passage into New York and America. The Dutch, the English, and immigrants from all over the world entered this port as sailors, farmers, merchants, writers, slaves, wives, adventurers, and pirates: a cross section of the immigrants who built New York into the place it is today.
Sea Warriors: a public art project at the South Street Seaport, NYC
Some historical and alternative discoveries in the neighborhood
Jack Putnam describes the port from 1640 to today
Partners, Friends & Donors
Limited edition work for sale
