Film Screening: Gowanus Current

When: Saturday, January 17, 2026, 2:00pm
Price: General Admission $15 | Members $10
Tickets
Excavators moving concrete in front of water
Still from Gowanus Current

Join us for a screening of Gowanus Current (Jamie Courville, Chris Reynolds, 2025), a film about people, pollution, planning, and real estate on the most toxic 1.8 miles of water in America. Decades of industrial waste and raw sewage have turned Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal into one of the nation’s most toxic bodies of water. The arrival of a billion dollar EPA cleanup and a massive city-led rezoning herald a new era, but what’s of value in a neighborhood and who gets to decide? 

Shot over the course of ten years, Gowanus Current employs a strictly observational direct-cinema approach to examine the convictions of this diverse community and the textures of its landscape. A documentary portrait of activism and its limits, this is urgent civic cinema exploring the conflict engendered by a housing crisis, income inequality and a changing climate. 

Event Timeline:
1:45 PM - Doors Open
2:00 PM - Film Begins
3:30 PM - Post-Film Discussion (Speakers TBA) 
4:00 PM - Event Ends 

Advance registration is encouraged to guarantee a spot. All sales are final; refunds and exchanges are not permitted. Programs and dates are subject to change.

Members: To receive your discount, click on the "Buy Tickets" button above, then sign in to your account on the ticketing page.

Groups of 10 or more get discounts; contact us at programs@mcny.org or 917.492.3395.

Accessibility: Assistive listening devices are available and our auditorium wheelchair lift can accommodate manual and motorized wheelchairs (max. capacity 500 lbs). Please contact the Museum at 917.492.3333 or info@mcny.org with any questions.

A group of men, women, and children during a rent strike in Harlem.

Related Exhibition - Ongoing

Activist New York

Delve into the drama of social activism in New York City, past and present, with issues as diverse as immigration, civil rights, and sexual orientation.

Sponsors

Activist New York and its associated programs are made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Partners

Drawing of a penguin with Puffin Foundation LTD written below

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