Revolutionary Art Show Reminds Viewers What Happened Here
Lower Manhattan streets are being transformed into an open-air art gallery commemorating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding with a public exhibition titled “Revolutionary Reflections.” The product of a partnership between the Downtown Alliance (which operates Lower Manhattan’s business improvement district), the City University of New York’s Gotham Center for New York City History, and the nonprofit arts group Art on the Ave NYC, the show displays images in the windows of empty storefronts on Broadway, Church, Nassau, and Wall Streets, and the Fulton Center depicting crucial inflection points related to the War for Independence, all of which happened in the square mile at the southern tip of Manhattan.
The Alliance began by collaborating with researchers at the Gotham Center to select a dozen narratives that are emblematic of the story of the American Revolution. Art on the Ave NYC then recruited New York artists Kate Fauvell and Naderson Saint Pierre (right) to render these stories into images, using collage and photography. Each image also contains a QR code that connects viewers to in-depth information.
“Boston King and the First Emancipation” (72 Nassau Street), for example, tells the story of one person among the estimated 20,000 enslaved people who seized their freedom during the American Revolution. In Lower Manhattan, he built a new life: working, marrying and becoming part of a community of formerly enslaved people.
“The Miracle Escape from Brooklyn Heights to Lower Manhattan” (120 Broadway) recalls the Battle of Brooklyn, when George Washington’s army was trapped at the East River after a crushing defeat on Long Island. But on the night of August 29, 1776, under the cover of darkness and fog, General Washington evacuated his entire army across the river to the island of Manhattan with a single loss of life.
“Elizabeth Burgin: The Woman Who Freed Hundreds” (180 Broadway) showcases a little-known but remarkable figure of the American Revolution, who played a vital role in aiding imprisoned patriots in British-occupied New York. Likely a soldier’s widow, she volunteered to deliver food and supplies to prisoners of war, using her access to secretly coordinate the escape of more than 200 rebels from makeshift prisons across Lower Manhattan.
“Merchants’ Coffee House: Hub of Revolution and Commerce” (33 Maiden Lane) marks the premier gathering spot for New York’s colonial elite, where the Sons of Liberty plotted to dump British tea and Alexander Hamilton later helped establish the Bank of New York, the Stock Exchange and the Chamber of Commerce.
“Revolutionary Reflections animates the stories that shaped both Lower Manhattan and the nation itself,” said Downtown Alliance president Jessica Lappin. “Through public art, we’re bringing this history into everyday spaces and inviting people to see downtown through a new lens.”