Museum Storytelling In
More Than Just
Objects
The Jewish Deli: Video Documentary
Working with Kicker Media, I planned and oversaw the production of a documentary for the New-York Historical Society's presentation of "I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli, an exhibition originally organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in LA. Shot on location at the iconic 2nd Ave Deli and Ben's Kosher Delicatessen in midtown Manhattan, the documentary featured interviews with the owners, workers, and patrons.
Hungry for pastrami and a half-sour pickle? Click on the image to view an excerpt from the documentary.
Image credit: Gallery view, "I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli, New-York Historical Society, 2022
Tattooed New York: Video Documentary
With Keith Behrle Productions, I envisioned and coordinated the production of a documentary for the Tattooed New York exhibition at the New-York Historical Society. Shot on location at three tattoo studios in New York City—Daredevil Tattoo, Fineline, and Kings Avenue Tattoo—the documentary featured interviews with tattoo artists and captured a diverse number of indelible artworks. The documentary played in the exhibition next to live tattoo demonstrations.
Click on the image to watch the documentary.
Image credit: Gallery view, Tattooed New York, New-York Historical Society, 2017
A Bite of NYC History: Touchscreen Interactive
Working with the team of Unified Field, I envisioned and curated a touchscreen interactive experience for the New York presentation of "I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli. Visitors were guided by an animated figure of a deli man, voiced by third-generation deli man Lloyd Lederman, as they selected from a variety of ingredients to create a tasty Jewish Deli sandwich. The interactive humorously educated visitors in the etiquette of mid-century NYC delis and revealed celebrities (entertainers, comedians, singers, etc.) who once had sandwiches named after them. The curated content included archival videos, menus, photography, music, and quotes.
Clicking on the image will direct you to Aaron Lebedeff's tune Hot Dogs and Knishes, 1926.
Image credit: Testing the touchscreen interactive produced by Unified Field for"I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli, New-York Historical Society, 2022
Travel with Twain: Touchscreen Interactive
In collaboration with Unified Field, I worked on a touchscreen interactive experience that took visitors on Mark Twain's 1867 journey that inspired his humorous travel book The Innocents Abroad. The curated content was organized in eight stops. Each stop included images [photography, artwork, book illustrations], quotes from The Innocent Abroad, and audio narration. The interactive had additional interpretive information, including historic maps, profiles of photographers who visited the Holy Land, and an animation showing Twain's journey from New York across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and beyond.
Clicking on the image will direct you to the New-York Historical Society exhibition page.
Image credit: Gallery view, Mark Twain and the Holy Land, New-York Historical Society, 2019
Rock & Roll: An Immersive Audio Experience
Working with the team of tonwelt guiding solutions, planned, coordinated, and curated an immersive, hands-free location-based audio experience for the New York presentation of the Bill Graham and Rock & Roll Revolution, an exhibition originally organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in LA. At the New-York Historical Society, visitors walked through 19 audio zones, experiencing a groovy playlist of about 100 songs curated to support the exhibition content.
Clicking on the image will direct you to the exhibition teaser.
Image credit: Gallery view, Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution, New-York Historical Society, 2020
Audio Tours
Scripted Ever Upward: Resilience and Recovery in New York, 2021, a Bloomberg Philanthropies/Bloomberg Connects audio tour launched on September 4, 2021. Using artifacts from the New-York Historical Society's collection and outside loans, the tour highlighted significant moments in New York City's history, including the British Occupation of 1776; the Great Fire of 1835; the Draft Riots of 1863; the Great Depression; the Fiscal Crisis of the 1970s, the 9/11 attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about the audio tour producer, Lou Giansante, here.
Clicking on the image will direct you to an audio tour script sample.
Researched, curated, sourced, and sometimes recorded and edited audio tour content for the following exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society:
"I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli
Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine
Play an audio clip of Lloyd Lederman, founder of Jay & Lloyd's Kosher Deli and Family Restaurant in Brooklyn.
Image credits:
New York's Liberty Bell, New-York Historical Society, 2021
Tattooed New York, New-York Historical Society, 2017
