Exhibition at Pier 57's indoor public space | Excerpt from Desire Lines & Daylighting
Design Trust's Photo Urbanism program offers fellowships to local photographers to create a new body of work illuminating the public spaces of NYC, centered around yearly themes that tie to our project work.
Design Trust for Public Space, in partnership with Pier 57, presents “Desire Lines and Daylighting” by photographer and filmmaker Nathan Kensinger. This multimedia exhibition documents local efforts to protect and expand access to New York’s waterways.
Focusing on waterfront communities in The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, this exhibition offers a mix of photographs and interviews uncovering work to reclaim and restore coastlines that have been polluted and cut off by industrialization. Kensinger follows community organizations along the shoreline of the Harlem River and Bronx Kill, the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek, and the coast of the Newtown Creek, where residents have created their own informal pathways to these waterways, while environmental stewards have designed proposals to restore habitats, creating much-needed green spaces and public access.
Hosted at one of the only indoor public spaces on Manhattan’s waterfront, the exhibition will be on display in Pier 57’s Living Room - located on the ground floor past Market 57- in Hudson River Park from June 18th to July 16th, 2025. Access to the Living Room is free and open from 6am - 1am. Learn more about RSVPing for a special opening night event here.
“Desire Lines and Daylighting” is a part of the Design Trust for Public Space Photo Urbanism program that offers fellowships to local photographers to create a new body of work illuminating the public spaces of NYC. This year’s Photo Urbanism fellow, Nathan Kensigner, was chosen alongside Design Trust’s 2025 Request for Proposals themed around water, a call for projects that will launch later this year. Kensinger is a Brooklyn-based photographer, filmmaker, journalist, and artist whose work explores hidden urban landscapes, post-industrial ecologies, forgotten waterways, and coastal communities endangered by sea level rise and climate change. Over the past 20 years, he has created a series of photo essays, documentary films, public art projects, and video installations about New York City’s changing waterfront. The photographs included in this exhibition will be printed on reusable materials, with the intent to later exhibit them within the communities they document.
“New York City has 520 miles of coastline, but for hundreds of thousands of local residents in The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, the closest waterway is often inaccessible, cut off by train lines, highways, and fences,” said Nathan Kensinger, Design Trust for Public Space Photo Urbanism Fellow. “Despite that, community members have found their own pathways to the water. During my Fellowship, I walked the coastlines of the Harlem River, Newtown Creek and Flushing Creek, documenting these informal access points, and seeing the inspiring work of community groups like the Newtown Creek Alliance, Guardians of Flushing Bay, and South Bronx Unite, to restore their neighborhood waterfronts.”
“Photo Urbanism is one of Design Trust’s longest standing programs, aiming to showcase NYC public spaces through the lenses of emerging photographers.”said Matthew Clarke, Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space. “This year’s photo exhibition invites a unique conversation on the lack of waterfront access in a city surrounded by water, and new ideas for a more equitable water future. We are excited to expand on these themes in the Design Trust’s next call for projects.”
“Pier 57 is a place where the waterfront’s history and future come together, making it the perfect setting for ‘Desire Lines and Daylighting’,” said Leah Bassknight, General Manager of Pier 57 at Jamestown. “This exhibition highlights the creativity and determination of communities reclaiming and restoring access to New York City’s waterways. At its core, this aligns with our work at Pier 57 through the creation of public gathering spaces and Market 57.”
“With their creative vision, artists bring new perspectives and insights to our overall understanding of the world around us,” said Erika Mallin, Executive Director of the New York State Council on the Arts. “Congratulations to Design Trust for this innovative program, which focuses our attention to New York’s public spaces, and this year’s Photo Urbanism Fellow, Nathan Kensinger.”
Photo urbanism fellows also lead a series of youth photography workshops in theme with their exhibition work. Stay tuned for the 2025 Youth Workshop gallery!
The Photo Urbanism Fellowship is made possible by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Learn more at photourbanism.org