Lecture. Between 1776 and 1783, Great Britain hired more than thirty thousand German soldiers to fight in its war against the American rebels. Collectively known as Hessians, the soldiers and accompanying civilians, including hundreds of women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North and […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has impacted many industries around the world—banking and finance, pharmaceuticals, automotive, medical technology, manufacturing and retail. But it has only just begun its odyssey toward cheaper, better and faster predictions that drive strategic business decisions. When prediction is taken to the max, industries transform, and with such transformation comes disruption. What is […]

Livestreamed. Thirty-five years after this landmark of urban history – originally titled We're Still Here in a 1986 first edition – Jill Jonnes continues to chronicle the rise, fall, rebirth, and ongoing revival of the South Bronx. The once-thriving New York City borough, ravaged in the 1970s and ’80s by disinvestment and fires, then heroically […]

Lecture. China’s growth over the past four decades has positioned state capitalism as a durable foil to the orthodoxy of free markets, to the confusion of many in the West. How are capitalism and entrepreneurship practiced in Xi’s “China Model”? How much of the Chinese economic miracle could be credited to Maoist ideology? What implications […]

Founded in 1420, the Forbidden City in Beijing had served as the center of Chinese royal power for five centuries. Following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the imperial complex had been turned into the Palace Museum in 1925. In recognition of the role it has played, The 178-acre (72-hectare) compound with its […]

Abdul Ali, Hananah Zaheer and Rosalia Scalia read from their work during this month's virtual salon.

In the summer of 1781, after spying on the British troops in Manhattan for six weeks, General Washington and General Rochambeau made a critical decision. They would not attack the British in New York but instead would take their troops across the Hudson River and march to Yorktown, Virginia to confront General Cornwallis’ army in […]

In Our Shoes: On Being a Young Black Woman in Not-So "Post-Racial" America is a memoir in essays about young Black women and the stereotypes and preconceived notions they are expected to live up to, examined through the lens of Brianna Holt’s lived experience and pop culture to help readers unlearn their biases and expand […]

Inspired by the adventurous spirit of The NYRB Classics series, NYRB Poets features the work of poets from around the world, classical and modern, ancient and contemporary, in elegant, pocket-size editions. We’re celebrating their 10th anniversary by highlighting the many works of poetry in translation published by NYRB Poets. We will be joined by some […]

The 80th anniversary of the beginning of the momentous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is on April 19th this year. In this talk, Dr. Zachary Mazur will reflect on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as a powerful example of Jewish resistance and action in the face of Nazi oppression during the Holocaust. Mazur’s presentation draws upon never-before-seen sources […]

In May 1923, when Shanghai publisher and Chicago Tribune reporter John Benjamin Powell bought a first-class ticket for the Peking Express, he pictured an idyllic overnight journey on a brand-new train of unprecedented luxury—exactly what the advertisements promised. Seeing his fellow passengers, including the mysterious Italian lawyer Giuseppe Musso (a confidante of Mussolini and lawyer […]

Screenwriter Lu Wei, often referred to as “China’s top screenwriter,” is the mastermind behind the initial drafts and storylines of some of the most iconic films in Chinese cinema, including “Farewell My Concubine,” “To Live,” “Qin Song,” “Shuangqi Zhen Daoke,” and “Red Cherry.” Despite his instrumental contributions to these films, Lu Wei has remained relatively […]

Art Spiegelman’s Maus remains as poignantly relevant today as it was when it was first published serially beginning in 1980, and then in two book volumes in 1986 and 1991. Among many other reasons for Maus’ present cultural impact, Hillary Chute argues that Spiegelman’s comics narrative reveals the capacity of the medium as a form […]

Maritime-themed book club. In partnership with McNally Jackson Books—located at 4 Fulton Street, just a few doors down from the Museum entrance—Seaport Museum staff and special guests will stir up lively discussions informed by our shared love of literature, history, and preservation. Our literary selections will be announced one month in advance.

Economists endlessly debate the nature of legal tender monetary systems—coins and bills issued by a government or other authority. Yet the origins of these currencies have received little attention. Dror Goldberg tells the story of modern money in North America through the Massachusetts colony during the 17th century. As the young settlement transitioned to self-governance […]

Reading and discussion. Celebrated Cavafy scholar and a noted translator of his work Daniel Mendelsohn will engage in conversation with acclaimed poet Jana Prikryl on Cavafy’s stature as a “poet of the world,” which will consider the poet’s biography, the global influences on his work, as well as the art of translation, and the process […]

Livestreamed. Constructed in eleven months, the 1250-foot Empire State Building, the world's tallest skyscraper from 1931 to 1971, was a marvel of modern engineering. The frame rose more than a […]

A moving and wickedly funny memoir about one woman’s life as the daughter of a Warhol superstar and the intimate bonds of mother-daughter relationships.

Emanuel Rosen, author of If Anyone Calls, Tell Them I Died, and Noah Lederman, author of A World Erased: A Grandson’s Search for His Family’s Holocaust Secrets, both reflect on […]

Reading and discussion. Celebrated Cavafy scholar and a noted translator of his work Daniel Mendelsohn will engage in conversation with acclaimed poet Jana Prikryl on Cavafy’s stature as a “poet […]

Reading. After years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. This is her […]

In the 1920s, Berlin was home to a thriving transgender community, with trans-focused magazines, famous drag clubs, and Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science, where some trans people went for […]

Spend the evening in Battery Park City listening to eclectic voices presented by Asian American Writers’ Workshop. This event will be a reading with a conversation with poets on their […]

In celebration of Pride month, BPCA presents Drag Story Hour, a fun and fabulous educational experience that celebrates gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give […]

Yan Phou Lee (李恩富) was the first Chinese American to publish a book in the United States, When I was a Boy in China (1887). He first came to the […]

Lecture. In this lecture, Christopher Minty focuses on the origins of the American Revolution in New York City from the perspective of those who became loyalists. It argues that longstanding […]

Pop up author collaborations.

The elegant Chinese lifestyle is a concept that encompasses a refined way of living that is rooted in traditional Chinese culture and values. It emphasizes simplicity, harmony, balance, and an […]

In partnership with McNally Jackson Books—located at 4 Fulton Street, just a few doors down from the Museum entrance—Seaport Museum staff and special guests will stir up lively discussions informed […]

Part architectural guidebook and part critique, Sky-High documents the pencil-thin, supertall towers that are transforming New York City's skyline and streets. A new book by Eric P. Nash, author of […]

Calligraphy is deemed the highest expression of Chinese visual art. At this lecture, master calligrapher Cui Xuelu will share his insights into the close relationship between Chinese calligraphy and the […]

Discuss Masks by Fumiko Enchi, translated from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter

Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis is the moving true story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias “Anna”) and her sister Frina outplayed their […]

Reading. In The Vegan, Andrew Lipstein challenges our notions of virtue with a brilliant tale of guilt, greed, and how far we’ll go to be good.

One night in New York City’s Chinatown, a woman is at a work reunion dinner when she excuses herself to buy a pack of cigarettes. On her way back, she […]

J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” worked with a team of physicists as part of the Manhattan Project, which created the world’s first-ever nuclear weapon […]

An evening with acclaimed musician Elias B. Rønnenfelt to celebrate the release of his debut book, Sunken Heights.

Join the Seaport Museum and historian and author Claire Bellerjeau for a captivating illustrated presentation that delves into the discovery of a new founding figure named Elizabeth, known as "Liss." […]

Miya Ando, winner of the 2023 Brookfield Place New York Annual Arts Commission, and Ami Vitale, a Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic photographer, will discuss their environmentally focused art exhibitions […]

Peter Beard lived an astonishing life. The artist, wildlife photographer, and bon vivant enthralled and inspired both because of his work and his legendary lifestyle. A scion of American industry […]

Besides the US, perhaps no country is more important to the world’s economy and geopolitics than China. Crucial to understanding and interacting with China is a familiarity with its complex […]