Join Tephra ICA and Jessica MacLean from the Central Park Conservancy for a talk exploring the history of Seneca Village, a 19th Century free-black community of landowners in New York City that was removed for the construction of Central Park.This program is offered in conjunction with exhibiting artist Kimberly M Becoat's ongoing project on this historic community in New York City, as part of the A Land and 河/River exhibition.
The Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, not-for-profit organization that manages Central Park. The mission of the Central Park Conservancy is to preserve and celebrate Central Park as a sanctuary from the pace and pressures of city life, enhancing the enjoyment and wellbeing of all.
Launched the year of the 200th anniversary of Seneca Village, the Central Park Conservancy is planning several years of programs—supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project—to deepen awareness of the community, encourage new thinking about commemoration, and discuss how race, history, and public space intersect. This initiative will culminate in a community-informed framework that will guide a future design for permanent commemoration of Seneca Village in Central Park. This commemoration will celebrate Seneca Village, inspire reflection, and publicly situate the community as a site of significance in American history.
Seneca Village Close-up - Egbert Viele’s Map of the Lands Included in the Central Park,1856
Jessica MacLean
Jessica (Striebel) MacLean is a multi-disciplinary scholar and historical archaeologist specializing in New York City history and serves as public historian for the Central Park Conservancy. Before her time with the Conservancy, Jessica was as an urban archaeologist for the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the NYC Archaeological Repository, where she was responsible for the curation and interpretation of archaeological collections excavated in the city. She has worked at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn in addition to being an adjunct professor of archaeology at the City College of New York, New York University, and Columbia University. In 2022, she co-authored Buried Beneath the City: An Archaeological History of New York. As an urban archaeologist, Jessica has excavated in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Queens, however, remains elusive.
MacLean received her Master in Arts in Museum Anthropology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Historical Archaeology from Boston University.