Peter Cramer and Jack Waters

“We’ve always worked as a collective. It’s not just our own work that we’re trying to generate.” — Peter Cramer

Peter Cramer and Jack Waters have been creating community—and creating IN community—for decades. Le Petit Versailles, a community garden on East 2nd street, is one such creation. You might have walked past the tiny garden hundreds of times without knowing that it’s part of a long history of artists and community members reclaiming corners of the urban landscape.

Peter and Jack were founding members of the performance group POOL, which staged performances about race, class, sexuality, and urban ecology, throughout the city in the 1980s and 90s. They’re also longtime residents of the LES, and gardeners! They’ve stewarded Le Petit Versailles for the last quarter century, transforming it into a place for performances, community gatherings, and horticulture.