Black History Month kicks off with a major exhibition at the Bethany Arts Community
Croton’s Ken Sergeant plays a major role with a 33 minute video presentation and as consultant on a special exhibit about Hudson River legend Henry Gourdine.
Ken Sergeant outside the Henry Gourdine room, with half of one of Gourdine’s boats (Photo by Michael Balter)
OSSINING — On January 7, 1903, Henry Gourdine, often called “The Dean of the Hudson River,” was born out on Croton Point, in a house so close to the river that the waves lapped at the foundations. His father worked at the old Underhill Brickyard, operating the factory steam engine. For almost all of his 94 years, Gourdine lived in Ossining, working as a commercial fisherman, a carpenter, a boatmaker, and serving as a fierce advocate of the river who inspired others to preserve and protect our mighty waterway.
When he died, on October 17, 1997 at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, his legend was well established. One of the key people who recorded Gourdine’s many stories, along with an oral history interview, was Croton’s own Ken Sergeant, a filmmaker, photographer, artist, and Chair of the village’s Arts & Humanities Advisory Council.
From now through March 14, a special gallery room featuring Gourdine has pride of place at the Bethany Arts Community’s special exhibition in honor of Black History Month, “Black History & Culture: Eyes Wide Open.” Sergeant has also produced a 33 minute video about Black history, which shows continuously in the center’s large performance room.
The exhibition, which was curated by Ossining historian Joyce Sharrock Cole, features a number of other galleries devoted to the history of Black Americans in the United States, including the story of African-Americans in the military, the Black press, Black medicine, Black inventors, a culinary gallery featuring the African-American influence on American cuisine, and the “Shake it Up” Hallway, featuring art created by 3rd and 4th graders at Claremont School in Ossining.
For those who have not yet discovered Ossining’s Bethany Arts Community, it is a real treasure. A 44,000 square foot facility sits on 25 acres of woodland, which features an outdoor sculpture park and gardens. The center offers art workshops, local artist studios and residencies, public performances, and much more. It is only 11 minutes by car from the center of Croton, and well worth the visit.
The Chronicle hopes to feature more about the art community’s activities in our occasional feature, “Chronicle on the Road.” In the meantime, we urge you not to miss “Black History & Culture: Eyes Wide Open.” You have until March 14, but as we know, time does fly.
Bethany Arts Community, 40 Somerstown Rd, Ossining, NY 10562
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Ken sergeant is a community treasure!