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From our recording studio in Brooklyn, we make audio that celebrates human creativity, history and the spaces we live to learn about.

When Covid started, some aspects of our lives seemed to slow down. We began taking longer walks in the park, and noticing things around us more. We stopped to smell flowers, watch dogs play in the pond and read books on park benches. And we started to realize how lucky we were to live so close to such a magical park.

Saunter with us as we explore the interesting history and ecology of the park, and pay homage to this wonderful part of Brooklyn.

This walk was created in Summer 2020.

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Prospect Park

All the essentials, organized thoughtfully into a walk that you can do in a day, at your own pace. 

$17.99

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Florence in a Day

When a key player goes missing at the marriage ceremony of the summer, reluctant wedding columnist Bobbi Rossetti transfigures into an ad hoc investigative reporter on the case. Follow Bobbi through a fictional version of 1920s Prospect Park as she decodes the clues and uncovers a stunning secret in this immersive audio mystery. 

Walter Prest is Duncan Gallagher 
Minnie Prest is Canning Robb
Irving Locke is Jake Kuhn
Roland Archer is Nathan Snow
Caissa Archer is Haley Schwartz
Bobbi Rossetti is Georgia Wright
Additional voice acting by Carter Hodge and Rebecca Carroll

Good Prospects was produced, written, and edited by Georgia Wright for Gesso. 

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Good Prospects: An Audio Mystery

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The Upper West Side was Hannah Arendt’s home from 1941 when she arrived as a stateless refugee, until she died in 1975. This neighborhood on a hill, home to fellow artists, writers, and friends, became a haven from her endless speaking and teaching schedule, which took her around the world. She wrote here, entertained here, and rested here, and it was here where she found the four walls necessary for solitude, friendship, and thinking. For the next hour we’re going to walk the Upper West Side and trace how Hannah Arendt made a home in the United States, discovering where she used to live, what she liked to grab for lunch, and how she got her start as a writer. Let’s begin. 

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Hannah Arendt’s New York

Late one night during Covid, we started wondering “Did Williamsburg invent the hipster?”

Turns out the answer is no. In fact, probably closer to the opposite. The first hipsters were fashionable non-conformists and creative countercultural types. But, what happens when a movement founded on non-conformity becomes something you can buy off the rack? 

Join us on a sociological dive into this subculture. We’ll find all of the markers of hipsterism, from thrifting and vinyls, to beer and bowling, and even (vegan) ice cream.

This walk was created in Summer 2020.

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Williamsburg

Migration allows people to adapt and survive. It also transforms a city into a community. Walk through downtown Oakland to uncover these interconnected migration stories.

Created in the Summer of 2021

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Oakland

With news focused on space travel to distant galaxies, we often take for granted the engineering marvels right in front of our own eyes. Now an iconic feature of the NYC skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge was once thought of as impossible. 

Meet the men, and woman, that advanced the science of bridge building by constructing this work of “Practical Grandeur”, and hear how the bridge served as the backdrop for the Black Lives Matter Movement.

This walk was created in the summer of 2020.

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Brooklyn Bridge

Serious Music with Bea Witkin is a site-specific audio walk on New York City’s Upper West Side produced by Megan Hattie Stahl. This immersive, musical documentary explores and extends the life and work of composer Beatrice Witkin (1916-1990). Across four stationary chapters and three walking interludes, participants follow a one-mile route from Riverside Park to Straus Park by way of Witkin’s longtime residence on West End Avenue. Through guided narration, archival music, interviews and recordings of contemporary musicians sight-reading a 1985 string quartet piece by Witkin, Serious Music invites listeners to consider Witkin's experience navigating the 20th century worlds of both “serious” and commercial music while balancing marriage and motherhood.

This walk's route is accessible for wheelchair users and transcripts are available for each segment.

View video trailer: https://vimeo.com/1141499224 

Sign the guestbook: bit.ly/seriousguest

View full credits, photo gallery and merch: bit.ly/seriousmusic

$11.99

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Serious Music with Bea Witkin

Welcome to "Listen to Chinatown", a site-specific Augmented Reality experience that takes listeners through Manhattan’s Chinatown, following in the footsteps of the deep and expansive history of community members, and shares the intricate complexity of what it means to come “back home”. 

We recommend going on this tour during business hours Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-6pm. 

100% of the profits from this tour will be donated to the Longevity Fund of Welcome to Chinatown, a small business relief fund that fundraises for the distribution of grants to small businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Created by Chromic Duo

Learn more about our projects at:
http://chromic.space

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Listen to Chinatown

An evocative auditory journey exploring the iconic sites of Warrane (Sydney Cove), delving into its living cultures and layered histories through First Nations storytelling. Guided by narrator Bianca Hunt, experience three narrative vignettes from artist Alison Page, activist Cheree Toka, and cultural educator Jake Ferguson. Listeners will explore iconic sites, native plants, and public art, fostering a profound appreciation for the land, and the cultural mosaic of Gadigal ‘Sydney’.

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Priceless – Gadigal: Warrane (Sydney Cove)

Lower Manhattan has one of the highest concentrations of monuments and memorials in the world. This Gesso walking tour, written and narrated by designer & educator Eric Moed, will reveal New York City’s invisible past; NYC’s contested origin story, obscure fragments of history, hidden reflective spaces & unbuilt memorials. Nine sites of memory will challenge you to think critically about the role monuments and memorials in public space play in defining our past and present, exposing you to strategies to directly advance New York City’s story into the future. This tour is a joint production of Gesso and oopsa aka Office of Open Practice Studio/Agency. For more information visit www.oopsa.org. Special thank you to Alice Kakurina and Roman Mamus who contributed to the research and scripting of this tour.

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Downtown Monuments & Memorials: Contemporary, Radical, Invisible

In the 1970s, Lower Manhattan was sliding into decay. Within this negative space emerged a new subculture. We’ll call them punks, even if they didn’t at first. 

We’ll peer into the shuttered storefronts, and reminisce on an intense period of artistic expression. Join us to retrace the steps of poets, photographers, painters and performers who defined punk. 

This walk was created in the summer of 2020.

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East Village

How Florence became Florence, from its signature cuisine to its central characters, all leading up to its brief stint as capital of a new country called Italy.

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Crossing Cultures

Before Ted Lasso brought Richmond into the limelight, this picturesque London enclave was already a gem waiting to be discovered. 

Our curated tour weaves together the neighborhood's rich history, striking architecture, and verdant riverside landscapes, while taking you on a journey through the beloved show's iconic filming locations. 

A leisurely tube ride from the city center, Richmond offers a refreshing escape from urban chaos. Embark on this expertly crafted tour, and uncover the sophisticated charm that has long captivated those in the know.

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Richmond: From Royalty to Roy Kent

A glimpse into some of the earliest settlers, innovators, and innovations from 19th century San Francisco's "Loma Alta" down through its most notorious neighborhood.

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Telegraph Hill

The fables, icons, and innovations which helped shape Florence into the “living museum” it is today.

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Blood, Magic and Misfits 

Governors Island is just an eight-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan but feels a world apart. Once known by the Lenape people as Pagganack, or Nut Island, this ice cream cone-shaped site served as a military outpost for centuries and today stands as a scenic refuge that is home to an impressive array of cultural, environmental, educational, and recreational offerings. 

Grab a citibike at the station just by the ferry and join us as we  circle the island and trace its transformation, discover storied castles, innovative built environments and a park designed to withstand climate change.

This tour was made as a collaboration between Open House New York, the Trust for Governors Island, and Gesso in summer 2021.

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Governors Island

Just the hits, from the highs to the lows, and the ugly to the beautiful.

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Hits | The Classics

Leaning on the Eternal City as a sort of "crash course" in cinema, this walk will explore the invaluable real life set pieces used by some of the most legendary filmmakers in history, from Antonioni to Fellini.  Let Rome teach you a bit about the cinema as the cinema teaches you a whole lot about Rome.

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CineCity | Rome at the Movies

Traveling from ancient ruins to modern renewal, this walk explores the evolution of Roman cuisine while venturing out to the lively, expressive neighborhood of Testaccio.

Guided Walks