Video produced by Nicki Pombier for Municipal Art Society Annual Summit October 10, 2017

We publish bi-annual themed issues and host events, explorations, and an artist residency, partnering with others and inviting new audiences to work with our waterways.

In 2009, New York Magazine reported on the “other city” that lies below the surface of our waterways and harbors. Taking this piece as an invitation, we began curating a list of objects and phenomena in the waterways of New York City.

Spotted by divers, scientists, detectives, engineers, activists, artists, and citizens, these lively materials spark our curiosity and serve as a prompt for many of the stories we publish or produce. We also publish work that engages with our waterways or considers how this is, and always has been, a city of waters.

We value amateur knowledge, diverse points of view, and generous collective effort. Our partners range from small galleries and curatorial groups to established museums and institutions. As we bring our arts, literary, and waterfront programming to diverse audiences across New York City, we seek to foster creative engagement with place.

Underwater New York was founded in 2009 and is a collaboration between Helen Georgas, Nicole Haroutunian, Nicole Miller and myself.

Photo by Robin Michals, East River Park, 2019