DB Lampman, co-founder of MakerSpace in Stapleton, “is not one to shy away from a good project,” as told in Staten Island Advance. For Sonic Gates, NYC's first sound sculpture walk on Staten Island's North Shore, Lampman created two interactive installations. The walk stretches along the Bay Street corridor from the waterfront to the diverse neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, and Stapleton. 

Talking Tubes at the Barrett Triangle is a composition of colorful PVC tubes that can be played to create percussive sounds. "It is very exciting to put an installation in a spot so unassuming, like behind a bus shelter. You could just be walking on the street and hop upon this assemblage of colorful PVC pipes sticking out at you that also makes a sound," Lampman said. 

Her other piece, DNA (Dynamic Nature Art), in Tappen Park is a helix of wind chimes assembled by students from PS 78 floating above the heads of its viewers.

“When Volker asked me to participate in Sonic Gates, I loved the idea of integrating sound into sculptures and the many possibilities it could open up for interaction," Lampman continued. "Through this project and Staten Island MakerSpace, we envision the activation of the North Shore in a positive way so that people are more creatively and economically empowered and that we build on our community.”

You can also check out DB Lampman’s works at the FemaleCentric art and fashion festival on Staten Island on Sunday, August 5.

Lampman is known for her large-scale sculptural installations, video and performance art. She holds a BFA from Maryland Institute, College of Art and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts and is a recipient of the the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation award. Her work has been shown at museums and festivals around the world including the Tenement Museum, the Islip Art Museum, the Kingston Sculpture Biennial, the Brooklyn International Film Festival at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma as part of the N(ever)land Percorsi al Digital festival. Learn more about Lampman's projects here.

Staten Island Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space launched the Sonic Gates sound sculpture walk created by artist Volker Goetze on July 14, 2018. The eight public art installations, on view for a year, vary from nautical buoys covered with bells on the waterfront along Front Street, to a self-playing wind harp on Thompson Street, to a drum totem in Tompkinsville Park, to a 90-foot-long mural of the endangered Right Whale at a bus shelter that pays homage to Staten Island’s maritime heritage. Learn more about each artwork on SonicGates.com.

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.

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.