KESSELGARTEN

Gardens, immigrants & unruly public space

Two film programs AUGUST 23rd & SEPTEMBER 10th (rain date September 13th) at 8pm

KESSELGARTEN: Yiddish slang for any noisy, chaotic, confusing situation or “ruckus.” It originates from the Eastern-European-accented pronunciation of “Castle Garden”, America’s first official immigrant depot, located on the southern tip of Manhattan from 1855 to 1890.

KESSELGARTEN is screening series that probes the relationships between immigrant communities and green, unruly urban spaces, here in NYC, and interrogates the definition of a garden: both as a serene place for communion with nature, and as a public space of encounter, contest, labor & urban reclamation, spaces that are continuously remade by their communities.

Thursday, September 10 - American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy (1989) by Chantal Akerman

Chantal Akerman’s rarely screened film, was shot on overgrown vacant lots along the East River, in which Jewish legends of the downtown avant-garde (like Judith Malina, founder of the Living Theater) recite first-person accounts of the hardship of Ellis Island-era immigrants. A makeshift outdoor restaurant is set up, jokes are told & stories continue. Their retelling of the experiences of an earlier generation creates a spectral feeling, almost though they are inhabited by ghosts of their own families. Today the film is doubly spectral; not only does it conjure the resilience and humor of our immigrant forebears, but it brings back the old waterfront itself, land that has since beenpaved over and gentrified beyond recognition. 

Organized by Zoe Beloff and Mina Mattes in collaboration with Matt Mckinzie and the Film-Maker’s Co-op. In conjunction with Zoe’s exhibition, Life Forgotten at City Lore,  with support from LMCC and the New York State Council for the Arts.