On August 24, six phenomenal UNY contributing poets–Matthea Harvey, KC Trommer, Katie Naughton, Danniel Schoonebeek, Allyson Paty and Cate Marvin–shared their poems from the site, as well as a small, stunning selection of other work. Matthea Harvey read several poems she wrote about, and for, mermaids (she had just returned from a mermaid convention!), Cate Marvin revealed Staten Island’s dark side and KC Trommer changed the way we’ll think about “On the Waterfront” forever. We luckily caught Katie Naughton before she sails off for warmer waters (Thailand!) and were swept away by Danniel and Allyson’s “Torch Songs,” a series of poems they write, and read, together. More than sixty poetry fans assembled at beautiful Poets House, overlooking the Hudson River, for the event and many stayed afterwards to drink wine, peruse the library and celebrate. Big thanks to the poets, to the audience and to Poets House!

Here are a selection of photographs from the event: 

On the evening of July 20th, about fifty people assembled at Chelsea gallery PPOW to hear an amazing roster of Underwater New York contributing artists speak about their work.

Amy Jean Porter, whose show OF LAMB was up in the project room of the gallery, kicked off the event by tying the humpback whale she drew for UNY into a larger narrative of her exploration of the natural world versus human culture.

Elizabeth Albert took it from there, explaining how her research of NYC’s fringe shores such as Dead Horse Bay and Coney Island Creek was sparked, in part, by Underwater New York and piquing everyone’s interest in a waterway-themed exhibition she is curating for the fall of 2012.

Marie Lorenz made us all feel like we were traveling NYC’s waterways on her Tide and Current Taxi, being inspired equally by the objects we encountered, the people we met and the ebb and flow of the water itself.

George Boorujy closed out the event with a talk followed by a bottle toss into the Hudson River, all of which was luckily captured on video by the very talented Stacey Szewczyk of the blog Hudson River Stories. Watch her piece below and be sure to follow up to track the fate of George’s project NY Pelagic!

After leading an excursion to Dead Horse Bay for Obscura Day 2010, we were excited to team up with Atlas Obscura again this year. On April 9, 2011, we headed out to Coney Island Creek, a neglected inlet off Gravesend Bay, home to an improbable collection of ghost ships, a beached submarine and other haunting nautical detritus. Read more about the Creek’s history here, check out these photos from participants Farooq and Karolina, and send us any stories, art or music they inspire!

Photos by Farooq Ahmed

Photos by Karolina Waclawiak

Underwater New York was so excited to be collaborating with children’s rock group The Deedle Deedle Dees to present this show! The Deedle Deedle Dees and UNY contributor Michael Hearst (One Ring Zero, Songs for Ice Cream Trucks) performed and the little ones wiggled all over the dance floor with an underwater disco dance party by UNY’s own DJ Dan Selzer.

It wasn't just the little guppies who enjoyed the show–The Deedle Deedle Dees write smart children’s songs about topics ranging from history (Sojourner Truth) to literature (Zora) to NYC traffic patterns (Major Deegan) that grown-ups can appreciate, too. Here's the amazing song about Dead Horse Bay they wrote for UNY:

The Deedle Deedle Dees book club also featured works by UNY contributor Matthea Harvey. Check out the kids’ pick The Little General and the Giant Snowflake and adult pick Modern Life.

Check out some of the amazing costumes here: