April 29, 2026 | Staten Island, NY – For Snug Harbor’s 50th anniversary in 2026, New York City’s only culture park is honoring the past by looking forward to the future.
Snug Harbor launched a major investment in visitor experience and audience engagement thanks to three transformative grants. This investment takes the form of a narrative, digital, and visual rebranding, which will address ongoing challenges of on-campus wayfinding and visibility in New York City’s competitive cultural landscape.
“This exciting work positions Snug Harbor as a power player on the New York City cultural stage,” said Jessica Baker Vodoor, President & CEO of Snug Harbor. “By investing in our visitor experience and audience engagement, we are vastly improving how we serve our community and Staten Island, as well as all the incredible collaborations with our local and regional partners.”
Narrative rebrand: A culture park on Staten Island
With a renewed commitment to share the broadest picture of everything Snug Harbor has to offer, Snug Harbor is stepping out as New York City’s first and only culture park: defined as a place with historical importance to the community it is a part of, shaped by a collaborative group of stakeholder programmers, often focusing on the value created when culture and nature meet. Culture parks around the world have programming that reflects both environmental conservation and cultural enrichment, emphasizing the deepening of both when intertwined together.
This work began in 2023-2024 with an overhaul of the organization’s brand architecture by NYC-based agency 2×4, funded by The Staten Island Foundation. The rebranding work included reimagined brand strategy, a new wordmark logo, promotional visual identity, palette, typography, and art direction.
Digital rebrand: State-of-the-art website with 21st century amenities
Snug Harbor is bringing its digital brand to life with a redesigned website and new, enriching content.
Key improvements in the Spring 2026 Phase 1 launch of Snug Harbor’s website redesign include greater visibility for our long-term resident artists and small businesses, an easier-to-read events calendar, and a more updated visual presentation of the beauty of Snug Harbor. Phase 2 improvements, slated to launch in late summer 2026, include free audio tours and a web-based interactive map to assist in onsite wayfinding.
This work will help Snug Harbor tell its story in new, exciting, accessible ways, attract new audiences, and assist visitors with where to go and what to do while at Snug Harbor.
The completed website redesign launched on April 20, 2026, with the audio tours and map launching in summer 2026. This project was developed with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture. Additional support was provided by the Booth Ferris Foundation.
Snug Harbor is working with Dreamers of Day and Bellweather on website development and web design respectively:
• Dreamers of Day is a digital product agency dedicated to crafting exceptional digital experiences, partnering with clients across various industries and markets to deliver innovative digital products through a blend of Product Strategy, Design, and Web Development. Established in 2015 in Dallas, Texas, Dreamers of Day has successfully served over 100 clients, excelling in large-scale, multi-platform projects.
• Bellweather is a strategy-led creative agency focusing on brand transformations that expand and diversify audiences, driving growth. Inclusion and collaboration are central to our process, yielding large-scale work that captures complexity while challenging the old narratives.
Visual rebrand: We welcome, we nurture, we inspire
In addition to a digital makeover, Snug Harbor regulars will begin to see new signage on campus, with stronger promotional muscle behind events and festivals, composed of a simplified, fresh, engaging new visual presentation. Additional support from the Booth Ferris Foundation will produce new temporary signage to promote onsite events and attractions in 2026, and funding from The Staten Island Foundation is underwriting a major out-of-house advertising campaign, featuring Snug Harbor’s first-ever MTA subway ads.
In addition to the official launch of the new website, brand, and content, 2026 is a landmark year for Snug Harbor, with events and programming celebrating its 50th anniversary as a culture park, as well as the return of the Neptune Ball gala on June 5, 2026.
About our contributors
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator Program helps cultural organizations strengthen technology and management practices to improve operations, drive revenue, increase fundraising, engage broader audiences, and deliver dynamic programming. Since 2021, Bloomberg Philanthropies has invested $128 million in the Digital Accelerator Program to support nearly 350 cultural institutions in the U.S. and U.K. Impacts for the 40 institutions in the initial cohort of the program include more than $20 million in new revenue, over 1 million new audience members reached, and 4,000 new artists and partners engaged.
The Booth Ferris Foundation was established in 1957 under the wills of Willis H. Booth and his wife, Chancie Ferris Booth. Since that time, over $425 million has been contributed from the Foundation to worthy organizations for a variety of charitable purposes, including arts and culture, education, parks and outdoor spaces, and strengthening the nonprofit sector.
The mission of The Staten Island Foundation is to improve the quality of life on Staten Island, particularly for the least advantaged, with a focus on improving education, health, community services, and the arts. Strategies to accomplish the mission include financial support; providing leadership for the community; collaboration with grantees, funders, and other entities; and building the capacity of local organizations to better fulfill their missions.
About Snug Harbor
Snug Harbor is New York City’s only culture park—a rare place where art, history, and nature come together to inspire everyone who visits.
Stretching across 83 acres on Staten Island’s North Shore, Snug Harbor blends lush gardens and open meadows with museums, artist studios, performance spaces, and one of the nation’s most significant collections of 19th century architecture. It is a place for exploration—welcoming the naturally curious, neighbors, and visitors from around the world. Located less than 1.5 miles from the Staten Island Ferry and easily accessible by public transportation, Snug Harbor welcomes more than 500,000 visitors each year.