Liz was guest curator of the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition From Farm to City: Staten Island 1661-2012 on view from September 13, 2012 - January 21, 2013

The exhibition looked at the individuals, communities, institutions, and city agencies that shaped Staten Island’s development over a 350 year period. Through compelling case studies, the exhibition examined not only the emergence of Richmond County as its own place, but also the Island as a landscape that shaped and was shaped by the larger historical forces of New York City.

Strategically located at the entry to the world’s greatest harbor, Staten Island has served as a breadbasket for New York City; a pleasure ground of estates and sporting grounds, including cricket, tennis, and foxhunting; a refuge for the needy at charitable institutions such as Sailors’ Snug Harbor; a center for early industrial activity at Linoleumville and Factoryville; an international port with ship-building facilities; and a place people call home, from early suburbs to public housing developments. From Farm to City tells these stories through a series of case studies highlighted by historic maps, photographs, and original objects, as well as contemporary photographs by Jeff Liao.

As a companion to the Museum of the City New York's 2012 exhibition, From Farm to City: Staten Island 1661-2012, the Museum has created a new website Mapping Staten Island to explore the landscape of Staten Island through a curated collection of historic maps and images. The site guides visitors through a chronological sequence of historical milestones that showcase a unique set of richly detailed maps and atlases drawn from an array of cartographic archives. Visitors will be able to compare maps from different periods of time, as well as unrealized plans for the Island, exploring the development of the Island over time, as well as roads not taken. 

Photos of exhibition: Pure+Applied. Selected images of Staten Island: Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao for From Farm to City: Staten Island 1661-2012.