The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum is excited to announce our new community exhibition, I Am, We Are, Inwood. Dedicated to uplifting the voices of Inwood community members, this exhibition invites people of all ages to share objects, artwork, personal narratives, and more, with the museum. Submissions will be featured on the museum’s social media platforms and website, as well as physically displayed on a monitor in the museum. If you would like to participate, we welcome you to fill out our google form! The form includes prompted questions, places to upload images or audio, and an option to come to the museum in person to film a short segment about your submission. The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum has been dedicated to recording the history of Inwood, and now, through this project, we hope to focus on those who embody the present and future of our diverse and vibrant community.
Leonard Cicio
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“I’m a fine artist and part of what I draw are the images of Inwood that connect with my life and have strong memories for people who are living here and who have moved. Images of the Henry Hudson Bridge, Inwood Park, the boathouse at Columbia, Inwood Park buildings by Indian Rd and the Broadway bridge to Riverdale. They have all been home to me for the past 27 years. Places that I’ve walked over to visit friends, go to work, shop and just to have a cup of coffee and take it all in. They have been my refuge and sanctuary through the years, with all my experiences, joys and ups and downs.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“It’s a connection in relationships. People make a community. My mornings at Inwood Farm to have a coffee, see the same familiar faces, people with their laptops that greet me, neighbors with their dogs. I’m a resident artist there along with Elissa Gore, and people will stop, look at our art and when we’re there, we talk to them and introduce ourselves. The FB community groups where I get to share my art and comment/likes with the postings of other people in the community. People who buy my T-shirts with my art, buy greeting cards. My life and business is all interacted with the community here.”
Do you have any experiences you wish to share?
“My best experience, is my drawing of the Henry Hudson Bridge, that was sold 5X as 4 originals and a large print. A neighbor whose father lived in my building and who he would take in his wheelchair, almost everyday to the exact spot at the park where i drew the HHB. He bought it at the Indian Rd Cafe (at the time) because it held that memory that he shared with his father. Another person, who lived on my floor as a teenager in the 70’s and retired to CT, saw the image on line and I did a commission piece for him. A good friend who for years visited my building, to have dinner with me and other friends he knew here. He got married, moved and wanted the drawing that he also saw when he came here on Sunday weekends. Finally, a guy in VA, who lived on Indian Rd and moved away at 17, saw the image online and bought an original. The fifth guy lived in Riverdale and bought a large sized canvas print of the HHB online.”
Noëlle King
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“Yes my painting called “At the Time of the Blue Moon, a Hummingbird Changes Worlds” It’s a portrait of a hummingbird I found in Inwood that had died on the full moon. I wanted to commemorate it and give it a new life in my painting.”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“I take care of a tree on my street and plant flowers to cheer everyone who passes by.”
Lina Rey
Do you have an important or favorite object that would give others insight to who you are and what you value? What is it? What conclusions would archaeologists of the future draw about you if they find it in 200 years?
“My Diary! I started keeping a journal since last year. I think it would be interesting for someone to read it in 200 years and learn more about this post pandemic life.”
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“Yes, I have been painting in watercolors and gouache since 2020.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“It means to be surrounded by people who are willing to help, it means delicious foods and amazing nature.”
Karin Dando-Haenisch
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“I am an art photographer and an art teacher of young children.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“Inwood, both physically as a neighborhood and philosophically as a community, provides me with the mental and creative ‘space’ to make my work. The natural environment, the low height buildings, the sense of community I feel from running into people and families I know on the street, in the parks, or in local shops and businesses. There is something about living uptown that gives me the creative ‘space’ to focus on looking closely at objects, situations, environments and artistic tools. The image shared with the museum is one of my more recent works – I look closely at objects around me to see the colors, textures, shapes and structures that are often overlooked in the daily hustle and bustle of NYC. Most of my compositions find me, as I happen to see or experience them in the moment, and yet others are ever so slightly organized, like the image here.”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“I have been a resident for over 20 years. As a parent, I have raised my sons here with my spouse. I have been active in the Friends of Indian Road Playground group – also when my children were young. I am also one of the founding members of the Inwood Kids parent group and I still run the group today (loosely – it kind of runs itself) with another parent. We started the group in 2003 when our children were little and now they are in their 20s. I support our local creative community by attending events and often donating to UP Theater and Inwood Art Works. I have, in the past, exhibited with the NOMAA Women in the Heights exhibitions. My children have volunteered for local parks initiatives and arts groups. Our family shops locally as a priority – we love CTown and we consider Isham Park and Inwood Hill Park our ‘backyard’ and care for its stewardship accordingly. We LOVE the Lost Inwood History groups lead by Don Rice and Cole Thompson and are so grateful for all the history they share with the community.”
Cinzia Meneghello
Do you have an important or favorite object that would give others insight to who you are and what you value? What is it? What conclusions would archaeologists of the future draw about you if they find it in 200 years?
“Yes, my sketchbook. Archeologists of the future would know that I am an artist and that I value creativity and self-expression. They would also be able to learn more about how people think, create and live in the 21st century based on the drawings and the tools used to make them.”
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“Yes. This drawing is a reminder to myself to always strive to find magic, love and hope in life. It was inspired by personal events as well as the sights and sounds of community gardens in the area. I hope it can make my neighbors smile.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“It means being a part of a very diverse community comprising of people from all over the world, artists, musicians, and more.”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“My art and whimsical illustrations are often inspired by this neighborhood, the people I meet, the parks and the wildlife surrounding me. I hope it can resonate with my community.”
Do you have any experiences you wish to share?
“Among others, I love visiting bodega cats in my daily walks, draw them, and gift the owners of the shops with the final artwork or print.”
Shu Tu
Kathleen Holloway
Do you have an important or favorite object that would give others insight to who you are and what you value? What is it? What conclusions would archaeologists of the future draw about you if they find it in 200 years?
“My father had a Pentax K-1000 camera when I was growing up and used to show me the mechanics of how it worked. I remember taking the lens off and seeing how the aperture changed from F/22 to F4, the speed of the shutter, and how to load film into the back. I lost my dad 12 years ago, but I still have that camera. He and it were important in fostering my love of photography and to who I am today.”
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“I am a photographer. I love capturing the ordinary to remind us that every day is a gift.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“I’ve lived in other cities and other parts of NYC, but nothing feels more like home then Inwood.”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“I love being involved in Inwood Artworks and NoMAA. There are so many talented people living and thriving in Inwood. It’s always wonderful to see how others use their creativity.”
John Hamilton
Do you have an important or favorite object that would give others insight to who you are and what you value? What is it? What conclusions would archaeologists of the future draw about you if they find it in 200 years?
“I have a stylish carry case full of my mom’s 45’s (vinyl singles) she collected as a teen in the 1960’s. She gave these to me when I was a child and it informed my musical tastes, introducing me to the doo-wop, R&B and girl-groups of the era. I imagine anyone who discovered this collection 200 years from now would be amused by the archaic technology but surprised by the freshness of the music!”
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“I curate a portable (and virtual) gallery called The Record Museum, which features the art and history of the record album. The latest show, “Hands On Hot Wax – An Incomplete History of the Interactive Album” will be on display the entire month of June at the Inwood Gourmet as part of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance’s Uptown Arts Stroll. I created the logo for the museum using a defunct New York record label, which allows me to recycle a piece of history for a new artistic interpretation.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“Understanding the history of the neighborhood as a immigrant community and celebrating the local flavor, experience and culture as much as possible.”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“Supporting the various stores and eateries unique to the neighborhood, which also includes the various vegetable stands, food carts and vendors at our excellent Saturday greenmarket. Remaining open and receptive to engaging with shop-owners and neighbors, establishing real connections beyond just a transaction or the common courtesy. Respecting our shared spaces, both green and urban.”
Do you have any experiences you wish to share?
The after-school laughs and screams that fill the Isham Park hillside during the warmer months is a tribute to eternal youth. And the brilliant yellow that explodes from the turning leaves of the Chinese Maidenhair Trees on Isham Street and in Isham Park a beautiful tiding of the changing season.
Nancy Lemberger
Do you have an important or favorite object that would give others insight to who you are and what you value? What is it? What conclusions would archaeologists of the future draw about you if they find it in 200 years?
“My photography deconstructs reality and reconstructs it in a new way.”
Do you make art? Is there a piece of art that you would like to share with the community? What significance does it have to you?
“Yes, my photos “abstractify” reality, for example the lines of the GWB structure new colorful perspectives of the taken for granted.”
What does it mean to be a member of the Inwood community?
“I do not live in Inwood, but in Harlem. Being a part of a community means respect, a generosity of spirit to help others”
How do you participate as a member of the community?
“Sharing my art and knowledge. I would like to share my work in an online exhibit and teach others my process of seeing the world.”