Governors Island ferry gets its first-ever mural

Spring Migration is a mural commissioned for a Governors Island ferry, turning the Harbor Charger into a floating artwork. The mural, created by Anna Valdez, draws inspiration from the island’s landscapes, wildlife, and layered history. Birds appear across the composition, including Baltimore orioles, orchard orioles, magnolia warblers, and peregrine falcons, chosen for their migration patterns and ecological significance. The imagery reflects Governors Island as a long-standing place of arrival and departure, used seasonally by the Lenape people, later settled by colonists, and eventually used as a military installation. The mural is built by layering oversized birds over digitally manipulated photographs of greenery and botanical details, creating a viewable kaleidoscope from near and far. The ferry is treated as a liminal space connecting land and sea.

"Governors Island Arts has unveiled Spring Migration, a sprawling new mural by Los Angeles-based artist Anna Valdez that turns one side of the Harbor Charger ferry into a floating work of art. It's the first mural ever commissioned specifically for a Governors Island Ferry—and it's attached to a vessel that is already making history as New York City's first public hybrid-electric ferry."

"Inspired by Governors Island's landscapes, wildlife and layered history, Spring Migration explores the idea of movement in all its forms. Birds soar across the colorful composition, including Baltimore orioles, orchard orioles, magnolia warblers and peregrine falcons. The species weren't chosen at random: some migrate through the region each year, while others, like the peregrine falcon, have become mascots of the area's ecological resilience."

"Valdez said the work was inspired by the island's long history as a place of arrival and departure. Before it became one of New York's favorite warm-weather escapes, Governors Island was used seasonally by the Lenape people, later settled by colonists and eventually served as a military installation. Like the birds featured in the mural, generations of people have passed through the island, leaving their mark before moving on."

"To make the piece, Valdez layered oversized birds against digitally manipulated photographs of Governors Island's greenery and botanical details, making a kaleidoscope of greens and yellows that can be appreciated both from afar and up close. One bird's wing stretches more than 20 feet across the vessel. The artist also leaned into the unique role of a ferry itself. Rather than treating the boat as a simple canvas, she envisioned it as a liminal space connecting land, sea"

Read at Time Out New York