Staten Island historic community is part of Billion Oyster Project exhibit, new mural displayed in NYC

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An interactive mural created by visitors of the Billion Oyster Project aims to honor the African-American oystermen from Maryland who settled in the 1850s in Sandy Ground — the oldest free Black community in the nation still inhabited by descendants of its original settlers.

In addition, a host of artifacts and artwork from the Staten Island-based historic settlement are on display on Governors Island as part of a Billion Oyster Project exhibition.

“We wanted to involve the public in hands-on learning about the history of Sandy Ground,” said Agata Poniatowski, public outreach manager of the Billion Oyster Project, noting she worked with Sandy Ground Historical Society President Julie Moody Lewis to come up with the idea of creating a mural of a quilt.

“I was so inspired by the quilting programs that the Sandy Ground Historical Society runs. And I was thinking about how we could involve the public in something very similar where it’s a hands-on learning experience about the history, but also incorporating art,” she added.

The quilt in the mural depicts an image of oyster fishermen, who is actually Moody Lewis’s great grandfather, Evan Bishop. In addition, there is an image of a picture taken by Alice Austin of a Delaware oyster shucking house, said Poniatowski.

“We incorporated it [the Alice Austin] image because it was probably similar to what it would look like inside of a shucking house here in New York,” she said.

The mural is now on display at the Billion Oyster Project exhibition on Governors Island.

Kicked off on City of Water Day, which was July 15, a collection of Sandy Ground photos and paintings — many depicting life in the community during the 19th and 20th centuries, the rich oystering off the shores of…