Warm welcome by creative and artistic director
"I invite all of New York to come and join us at the table, to have a meal or a drink with us. Enjoy the art, the atmosphere and the festival on New York’s newest island."
Discover the Island as a Stage
When a group of New Yorkers visited the 10-day Oerol Festival on the Dutch island of Terschelling, they had one thought: New York has to see this.
Based on the 28-year-old tradition of Oerol, all of Governors Island will be transformed into a venue for art and artists. The old officers’ barracks and Admirals’ houses, the little parks, even the ferry ride itself will be part of the show.
Mining the remarkable history of Governors Island for material, the New Island Festival will bring site-specific theatre, music, dance, and art installations from Holland’s top artists, right into the middle of New York harbor. The festival center is a 400-foot long, 7-foot wide dining table. It is a stage, a catwalk, and of course the heart of the biggest open-air dining room in the world.
I invite all of New York to come and join us at the table, to have a meal or a drink with us.
Enjoy the art, the atmosphere and the festival on New York’s newest island.
Joop Mulder - Artistic director New Island Festival
Kick off the Fall with Music, Art, Theatre and Dance as the Dutch Return to Governors Island
As Henry Hudson did 400 years ago, a new wave of Dutch pioneers will be journeying across the Atlantic this September to colonize a small island in the middle of New York harbor. From their settlement on Governors Island, this collection of artists, dancers, musicians, singers, and cooks are here to re-capture New York.
They have named their colony New Island, and will transform it into a place where anything is possible. The two most important Dutch festivals – Oerol (the island festival) and Boulevard of Broken Dreams (the only travelling festival in the world) – have dispatched hundreds of artists, who will establish a colony on the island, setting up temporary cafes, bars, theatres, and installations.
I want to invite everybody to come to the New Island Festival! Buy a passport at the ferry, have endless fun all over the island with outdoor theatre and performances, and stop in for a drink at one of the open-air bars! And if you get hungry, come and join the whole family for a typical Dutch dinner at our 400-foot long table, while performers entertain you.
This New Island in the middle of New York harbor is truly an enchanting place!
Terts Brinkhoff - Creative director New Island Festival
