The New York Oyster Conference

A conversation about oysters is about so much more than oysters.

Full video of the New York Oyster Conference is now available! Held in conjunction with Greater New York, the conference brought together artists, environmental advocates, and scholars to discuss not only the evolution of New York’s oyster population, but what oysters can teach us about how colonialism has shaped the social and ecological landscape of the city.

The event included Alan Michelson and Shanzhai Lyric, artists featured in the exhibition, in addition to Tanasia Swift of the Billion Oyster Project and Omar Tate of Honeysuckle Projects. They discussed the myriad of cultural and environmental roles that oysters have played in New York’s past, along with the future possibilities for oysters in the city’s cultural and environmental preservation. The presentations was followed by a conversation moderated by Ayasha Guerin, Assistant Professor of Black Diaspora Studies at the University of British Columbia.