The fertile artistic environment of Staten Island has drawn Jeremy Munson into creative collaborations to produce new work. For Sonic Gates, New York City's first sound sculpture walk, Munson created a metal arch with bells inspired by Eero Saarinen's iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Three movable bell tubes create a three-note harmony.

The sculpture walk stretches along the Bay Street corridor from the waterfront to the diverse neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, and Stapleton. “Most visitors who ride the ferry to Staten Island don’t step beyond the ferry terminal,” Munson lamented.” They don’t realize how much it's here.” But he is hopeful. “Our installations will draw people out of the ferry terminal and take them along Bay Street and the waterfront to Stapleton,” he said.

Staten Island Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space launched the Sonic Gates sound sculpture walk created by artist Volker Goetze this summer. The eight public art installations, on view for a year, vary from nautical buoys covered with bells on the waterfront, to a drum totem in Tompkinsville Park, to a self-playing wind harp on Thompson Street. Learn more about each artwork on SonicGates.com.

Trained in the French guild style, Munson has worked with many artists and fabrications teams on metal and mixed media projects ranging from structural steel, decorative architectural details, to large-scale art installations. Dynamic group projects always excite him. Sonic Gates was no exception. “I’ve been a resident artist at Staten Island MakerSpace, through which I’ve got to know a great community of local artists; I met Volker and started working on this unique project,” Munson explained. 

A team of Staten Island-based artists directed by Volker Goetze created the artworks with Staten Island MakerSpace as an integral community partner. The team includes Scott Van Campen, Alassane Drabo, DB Lampman, Jeremy Munson, Lina Montoya, Arthur Simms, and students from PS 78. Sam Samore is the artistic advisor. Learn more about each artist on SonicGates.com.

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Community partners include 100 Gates, Citizens Committee, Island Voice, Projectivity, PS 78, Staten Island MakerSpace, Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness and Universal Temple of the Arts.

New York City and State partners include NYC Department of Small Business Services through the Neighborhood 360 initiative, NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Parks, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Office of the Staten Island Borough President. Read about the De Blasio administration's visit to Sonic Gates here. 

Staten Island’s North Shore waterfront, home to hundreds of artists and arts organizations, is rapidly developing with residential, commercial and urban planning projects. Community members worry about the long-term availability of affordable housing, artist studio space, and venues for other cultural uses. In response, Staten Island Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space developed the Future Culture initiative to promote and sustain the existing cultural assets, as well as to foster community connections and shape a vision for culture on the North Shore.

Sonic Gates is made possible through the generous support of New York City Department of Small Business Services through the Neighborhood 360 grant program, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, NYC & Co Foundation, Citizens Committee, Thornton Tomasetti, and 100 Gates.