HART ISLAND: A CEMETERY THAT SHOULD NEVER CLOSE ITS DOORS
New York City is a hotbed of culture, diversity, and opportunity. It is home to Broadway shows, five-star restaurants, high-profile careers on Wall Street, and world-class museums. What many people don't know is that New York also has its own Potter's Field: Hart Island, the largest tax-funded cemetery in the world.
Although most New Yorkers know of its existence, few people know what goes on at this little piece of land on Long Island Sound. It is home to hundreds of thousands of bodies that have been buried since 1869. It is one of the largest cemeteries in America that most people have never heard of. It has a reputation for being haunted and is sometimes called "The Forgotten Island".
For years, the city of New York held public burials on Hart Island, where it houses approximately one million remains. In 1869, the island was designated a potters' field, where unclaimed corpses were buried. The island continues to be used today for unclaimed remains, prisoners convicted of capital crimes, AIDS victims, and stillborn babies. In recent decades, Hart Island has been the scene of numerous protests and lawsuits due to its lack of accessibility for relatives.
"I wonder what goes on night and day beneath the surface of a cemetery" — B. Traven
Hart Island is the resting place of more than a million souls. Its main characteristic is not that it may be haunted or another mysterious supernatural element. On the contrary, the New York memorials that lie on the ground are a reflection of a harsh reality for many. There are those who discover that their relatives were buried in a large mass grave, managed by the Penitentiary Department, which transports fifteen inmates from Rikers Island to dig the holes.
The only way to visit Hart Island is by a ferry operated by the Department of Prisons. However, a new exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, called "The Hart Island Project", tries to change this situation.
Melinda Hunt is an artist and activist who has been working since the early 1990s to bring attention to Hart Island. Hunt launched The Hart Island Project in 1995 as a way to raise awareness about the island and its inhabitants. The project has grown into a multimedia organization that includes a website, social media platforms, and an annual photo exhibit.
"Cemeteries are interesting. They're worth visiting and they're worth studying. If we take the time to listen to what the stories might tell us, we have a lot to learn" — Richard Veit
The Hart Island Project is an organization working to restore access to Hart Island, New York's largest public cemetery. For years, the only way to visit Hart Island was to be buried there. But in response to protests and a lawsuit filed by Hunt and others, the city began allowing limited access in 2009.
Hunt's artistic practice encompasses various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, video, and photography. The interest in the landscape and the way in which people interact with their environment is fundamental in her work. She often uses documentary photography and video to explore these themes.
Hart Island has been the subject of much controversy over the years. There are many people who are pushing for it to open as it is such a unique and interesting place that should be open to everyone. The New York Memorials that rest on the island await the arrival of those who built them, those who have been denied to visit their loved ones.
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