Virtual Aquapolis
VIRTUAL AQUAPOLIS — an immersive VR experience chronicling 500 years of ecological change in the hidden underwater world of New York Harbor.
Virtual Aquapolis examines the transformation of New York harbor from a rich, biodiverse maze of marshlands, reefs and estuaries into the urban waterways surrounding NYC today.
Visitors become the water itself: moving through the harbor as currents and tides and shifting volume to filter through oysters and jellyfish to explore microscopic lifeforms and pollutants.
Over five centuries, from 1500 to the near future, the underwater world reveals an ever-changing mosaic of flora, fauna, and human artifacts as the burgeoning metropolis above the surface transforms the biosphere below.
In every era you experience the fragility and resilience of New York Harbor’s aquatic ecology; an urban ecosystem from which you are both inseparable and the driving force of change.
The experience unfolds in five scenes, each depicting a key era in the Harbor’s environmental history. Changes in the color and quality of the water function as a dramatic arc.
Against the backdrop of a refracted human world, you encounter migrating and endemic species, predators, and prey as habitats thrive, adapt, disappear, and rebound in response to human activity.
You become part of the dark, murky underwater world, moving rhythmically toward and away from shorelines, around and through living organisms and human artifacts, filtering through oysters, and shifting in volume to see wide panoramas and microscopic organisms.
Ambisonic hydrophone recordings and spatial audio design translate ecological processes into vibrational experiences: waves breaking against seawalls, sediment shifting across the harbor floor, boat engines reverberating through piers, and marine organisms communicating through tone and pulse. These rhythms—tidal cycles, biological signals, and industrial noise—form a sonic field that reveals the harbor as a site of synchrony and disruption, where human infrastructures and aquatic life continually reshape one another.
We are curious about VR’s potential to serve as a philosophical space, offer radically new perspectives, and to connect, not disconnect from one’s environment.
As the harbor’s water, you become a collective force in constant transformation — from sacred resource to global corridor to extraction, sacrifice and remediation zone — toward a future shaped by humans’ ability to change.
Addressing what lies ahead begins with recognizing ourselves as intrinsic parts of an interconnected ecological system.
While urban waterways are often regarded as sacrifice zones, Virtual Aquapolis highlights the diversity and resilience of New York Harbor’s marine ecosystems, challenging the divide between “urban” and “natural” by revealing how human culture and the biosphere work in tandem to reshape one another.
Experiencing the harbor’s recovery — from industrial murk to growing biodiversity — offers a visceral sense of hope in a space long linked to ecological despair.
New York Harbor’s story mirrors that of coastal cities worldwide — facing climate change while caught in a paradox.
A northern Everglades fundamentally altered by centuries of profit-driven exploitation, New York Harbor’s ecology is slowly regenerating, thanks to environmental policy and remediation efforts. Still, dredging, dumping, and industrial pollution persist alongside rapid waterfront development, shrinking regulations, and rising sea levels.
Co-Directors
LAURA CHIPLEY + SAMARA SMITH
Since 2018 we have been collaborating to create site-specific interventions, immersive experiences, and participatory media projects about the dynamic relationship between human culture and ecology. We collaborate with communities to collectively envision New York City’s ecological past, present, and future.
We use emerging technologies to reveal the unseen dimensions of urban spaces and the ecosystems we inhabit.
Our collaborative work draws from experimental and nonfiction film, psychogeography, and social practice, and is developed in dialogue with scholars, scientists, activists, and local communities.
We approach immersive media as a civic and ecological tool — a way to shift perspective and deepen public engagement. Our work operates across art, science, and technology to create public experiences rooted in place.
Laura Chipley — Multimedia Artist; Associate Professor, SUNY Old Westbury
Laura Grace Chipley is a Queens-based multimedia artist whose work examines the relationships between culture, ecology, technology, and power. Working across documentary, new media, and social practice, she develops participatory projects that combine community collaboration with emerging technologies to investigate environmental issues and the impacts of resource extraction.
Her projects often involve partnerships with activists and local communities and employ tools such as drones, surveillance and underwater cameras, environmental sensors, virtual reality, and animation.
Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. She received an A Blade of Grass Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art in 2015 and National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Projects for the Public grants in 2020 and 2024. She is an Associate Professor in the American Studies/Media and Communications Department at SUNY Old Westbury.
Samara Smith — Documentary & Emerging Media Artist; Co-founder, Media Innovation Center, SUNY Old Westbury
Samara Smith works at the intersection of documentary, social practice, and emerging technology. She received a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Projects for the Public Grant in 2020 and 2024. Her media projects have been exhibited at the Hammer Museum, New York Transit Museum, Queens Museum, Elsewhere Museum, Conflux Festival, and more. At SUNY Old Westbury she co-founded the Media Innovation Center, and in 2022 received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Service.
Team
Winslow Porter — Founder/Creative Director, New Reality Co / Forager
Founding member of ONX Studio, New Inc Y2 + Mentor, NYU faculty.
Matt McCorkle — Emmy-nominated Digital Artist and Systems Thinker
Onassis ONX Member. Emmy-nominated digital artist and systems thinker working at the intersection of art and technology.
Todd Bryant — Director of Production, Integrated Design and Media, NYU Tandon
Director of Production for the Integrated Design and Media Program at the Tandon School of Engineering, NYU.
Louise Lessel — Lead Creative Technologist & New Media Artist; NYU faculty
Specializes in immersive systems and projection mapping. NYU faculty.
Kea Pedersen — NYU student
NYU student contributor to the Virtual Aquapolis project.
Shimeng Zhou — NYU graduate
NYU graduate contributor to the Virtual Aquapolis project.
Haoren Zhong — NYU graduate
NYU graduate contributor to the Virtual Aquapolis project.
Thank you NYU Tandon’s XR Lab @The Yard!!!!
Consultants
Erin Becker — Visitor Services & Volunteer Coordinator, Long Island Maritime Museum
BA in Anthropology and History, MA in History, Stony Brook
Erin Becker is the Visitor Services & Volunteer Coordinator at the Long Island Maritime Museum. Her research focused on Long Island Native people — specifically the Shinnecock, Montaukett, and Unkechaug nations — in the deep sea whaling industry, fishing industry, and the military, and on the ways in which women participated in these traditionally masculinized industries.
Project Contribution: Becker will consult on the documentary content and user experience. Her expertise as a public historian and museum professional will inform outreach strategies and design of the interpretive digital kiosk element.
Dr. Melissa Checker — Associate Professor, Urban Studies, Queens College / Anthropology, CUNY Grad Center
PhD from NYU in Environmental Psychology
Dr. Melissa Checker is the Hagedorn Professor of Urban Studies at Queens College and a faculty member in the PhD Program in Anthropology at the Graduate Center. Her research focuses on environmental justice and urban sustainability in the United States. She is co-editor of Sustainability in the Global City: Myth and Practice and author of Polluted Promises, winner of the 2007 Association for Humanistic Sociology Book Award.
Project Contribution: Dr. Checker will consult on the future section of Virtual Aquapolis, helping to elucidate possible future scenarios for NY Harbor.
Dr. Michael Chiarappa — Associate Professor, History, Quinnipiac University
PhD, History, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Chiarappa is an active public historian committed to collaborations between universities and the wider community. He has collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service, Mystic Seaport Museum, and others. His research focuses on marine-related environmental and cultural history, including work on New York City’s oyster barges and the environmental history of Delaware Bay.
Project Contribution: Dr. Chiarappa will bring his expertise in NYC’s marine world and its historical development as a port, helping translate this history for a general audience.
Dr. David Soll — Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
PhD History, Brandeis University
Dr. Soll’s main research focus is water. His book Empire of Water: An Environmental and Political History of the New York Water Supply reveals larger shifts in environmental philosophy, ethics and practice throughout the twentieth century.
Project Contribution: Dr. Soll will help develop humanities themes around the environmental and political history of New York Harbor, guiding the team as they map shifts in environmental practices throughout the twentieth century.
Dr. David Stradling — Professor, History, University of Cincinnati
PhD in History, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. David Stradling teaches urban and environmental history. His books include The Nature of New York: An Environmental History of the Empire State (Cornell, 2010) and Smokestacks and Progressives (Johns Hopkins, 1999). His current research focuses on dredging and underwater infrastructure. He serves as co-editor of the Urban Life, Landscape, and Policy series at Temple University Press.
Project Contribution: Dr. Stradling will help map the urban and environmental history of New York Harbor, with particular expertise in dredging and the environmental history of New York State.
Dr. John Waldman — Professor of Biology, Queens College
PhD, Evolutionary Biology, American Museum of Natural History / CUNY
John Waldman works on the ecology and evolution of anadromous fishes, historical ecology, and urban waterways. Before joining Queens College, he worked for 20 years at the Hudson River Foundation. His books include Heartbeats in the Muck, Running Silver, and The Dance of the Flying Gurnards.
Project Contribution: Waldman will help trace the arc of New York Harbor’s environmental history — from pristine estuary through industrialization to today’s return of oysters — for a general audience.
Liz Canner — Award-winning Filmmaker and Digital Artist; Director, Astrea Media Inc.
Liz Canner is an award-winning filmmaker, digital artist, sculptor, and writer. She is the producer/director/writer of The Lost City of Mer, a cross-platform interactive experience combining a smartphone app with VR. Her feature documentary Orgasm Inc. was a New York Times “Critic’s Pick.” A Brown University graduate, she has received over 60 awards and grants including an NEA grant and fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard.
Project Contribution: Canner will consult on the story narrative, user experience, and technical specifications, with particular focus on underwater 360 videography and VR user experience design.
Jeremy Dennis — Artist and Tribal Member, Shinnecock Indian Nation
Jeremy Dennis is an artist and tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY. His work explores indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation through digital photography. His project On This Site uses photography and an interactive map to showcase culturally significant Native American sites on Long Island. He was a 2016 Dreamstarter Grant recipient from Running Strong for American Indian Youth.
Project Contribution: Dennis will bring expertise in NY Native American history and interdisciplinary research methods to inform the incorporation of indigenous perspectives across all sections of Virtual Aquapolis.
Robin Espinola — Documentary Producer and Writer; Eric Barnouw Prize recipient
Robin Espinola is a documentary producer and writer with over twenty-five years of experience creating historical programs for PBS. In 2019 she received the Eric Barnouw Prize for co-writing The Chinese Exclusion Act with Ric Burns. She has produced numerous NEH-supported projects including The Pilgrims, Death and the Civil War, and Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World, and served as series archivist for NEW YORK: A Documentary Film.
Project Contribution: Espinola will consult on the project timeline, budgeting, archival research, licensing, fact checking, and development of the humanities themes and historical timeline.
Kate Stevenson — Founder, DotDot Creative Studio
Kate Stevenson is the founder of DotDot, an award-winning creative studio focused on generating impact through social and immersive experiences. Recently, DotDot created SoundLab, a VR installation for gallery exhibition where sounds are given 3D visual form and can be played with just hands.
Project Contribution: Kate will consult on the technical specifications of the VR project, user experience design, and the sustainability plan.
Dominika Ksel — VR/AR Documentary Artist and Educator, City Tech
Dominika Ksel is working on a project for Reclaim Pride about the History of the Christopher Street Piers using 360 Video, AR and holographic projections. She produced a VR project for Montefiore Hospital and another about Myth, Media, Climate Change and Antarctica, featured on the Center for the Humanities website. She teaches a New Media class exploring Urban Climate Justice through VR/AR and 360 video at City Tech.
Project Contribution: Drawing on her innovative VR documentary experience, Ksel will consult on the technical and creative elements of the VR documentary.
Curtis Zunigha — Director of Cultural Resources, Delaware Tribe of Indians; Co-founder, The Lenape Center
Curtis Zunigha is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma, serving as Director of Cultural Resources for over 30 years, including as chief from 1994–1998. He is co-founder and co-director of the Lenape Center, a NYC nonprofit promoting the history and culture of the Lenape people through the arts, humanities, and social identity. As a tradition-bearer of Lenape culture he has proficiency in language, history, customs, singing and leading Lenape social dances.