Celebrate The Suffrage Centennial With Staten Island Museum Programming

1. The Staten Island Museum continues to honor the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, with its current exhibition Women of the Nation Arise! and though this seasons programming illuminating little-known stories of Staten Island's suffragists and providing contemporary ways to connect with them.

From poetry, to performing arts and publications this series includes a variety of presenters such as Dr. Marguerite Maria Rivas (Staten Island's first Poet Laureate), Edwina Martin, (the first woman, first person of color and only the second attorney to hold the office of public administrator on Staten Island), and Bonnie Bolstein (Staten Island resident and descendant of suffragists). We are thrilled to partner with Staten Island OutLOUD, an organization promoting cross-cultural understanding through grass-roots discussion of literature and historic documents and The Staten Island Zine League (SIZL), a collaboration between artist Maggie Buford, MakerSpace NYC, and NYSAI Press.

All programs will be held virtually.

Poet Laureate Presents: Women's Right to Vote

Sunday, October 18, 2pm

Poet Laureate Marguerite Maria Rivas will lead an interactive afternoon of poetry celebrating Women's Right to Vote featuring historic and contemporary works. Dr. Rivas's work is driven by a passion to shed light on forgotten Staten Island authors and poets, specifically women who have paved the way for modern poetry.

The True Grit of the Suffragists

Sunday, November 15, 2pm

Staten Island OutLOUD presents a virtual performance on the women's suffrage movement with local historian Patricia Salmon, Edwina Martin (Public Administrator of Richmond County) and Bonnie Bolstein (Island resident and descendant of suffragists).

Zine Workshop with Staten Island Zine League (SIZL)

Saturday, December 5, 3pm

Zines are small-scale, independently created and published magazines. Throughout the years, they have expressed the social and political tensions of their times. In addition to talking through the history and visual language of this literary genre, participants will create a zine that celebrates or takes inspiration from the centennial of women's suffrage in the United States.

Each program is presented live on Zoom and requires preregistration. A $5 donation is suggested. Free for museum members. Tickets are available now at www.StatenIslandMuseum.org.

The Staten Island Museum is a co-chair of the Women's Suffrage NYC Centennial Consortium with the New York Historical Society which represents a collaboration of cultural organizations citywide to make connections between related exhibitions and programs that offer a fuller picture of the women's suffrage movement and its lasting impacts. Participating organizations include the Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Philharmonic, the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Park Avenue Armory, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden. For more, visit WomensSuffrageNYC.org.