On May 4th, join GreenCrab.org and Eating with the Ecosystem at the Newport Art Museum for an oyster party celebrating Rhode Island shellfish, green crabs, and ecological storytelling through art.
Artist Talk: Andrea Spiridonakos will discuss her Artist in Residence experience, portfolio, and how her work highlights the importance of nurturing our coastal community.
Discussion: GreenCrab.org Executive Director Mary Parks will guide a conversation on green crabs, their invasive impact, and connection to RI shellfish with Captain Jason Jarvis of Quonnie Fish Co. and Kate Masury of Eating with the Ecosystem. This conversation will also explore why eating invasive and underutilized species is key to supporting a resilient food system.
Green Crab Touch Tank: Hosted by Nick Cataldo of Bluff Hill Cove Oyster Farm
Oyster Bar: Two varieties of RI oysters shucked by The Shuckologist
Libations: Featured Cocktail — St. Ours Green Crab Bloody Caesar, Craft Beer, and Wine
Ticket Includes: Artist talk & discussion, oyster bar, finger foods, one drink ticket, and museum admission.
Art that Gives Back: GreenCrab.org will be selling crocheted clams and oysters created by Providence-based textile artist Ava Wood and tide pool prints from New England-based photographer Charlie Nutting. 100% of proceeds support GreenCrab.org’s shellfish outreach and collaboration efforts.
Personalized Poetry: Julie Genga (@grayseapoetry) will be onsite composing personalized and embellished poetry on her typewriter.
Featured Speakers
Captain Jason Jarvis
Based in Westerly, RI Captain Jason Jarvis has been harvesting green crabs for 11 years along with a wide variety of other species from oysters to underutilized slipper limpets. He's been a commercial fisherman for almost 3 decades, co-founded Quonnie Fish Co., and founded South County Fishmongers. Jarvis also serves as one of GreenCrab.org's Harvester Advisors and board president of the North American Marine Alliance: an organization that tackles food justice and racial equity and works closely with indigenous leaders on fisheries issues.
Kate Masury
Kate Masury is the Executive Director at Eating with the Ecosystem, a small non-profit whose mission is to promote a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood, through healthy habitats, flourishing food webs, and short, adaptive seafood supply chains. Kate frequently integrates green crabs into her work with chefs and community members and has collaborated with our organization on events and resources.
Andrea Spiridonakos
Andrea Spiridonakos has a practice driven by process, experimentation, and detail, through various mediums such as fiber art, decorative art, and installation. Spiridonakos holds a degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She is the former Artist in Residence at the Newport Art Museum, whose recent work features a Rhode Island oyster, felted from locally sourced wool.
This joint fundraiser benefits the Museum and GreenCrab.org‘s mission: building culinary markets for European green crab and spreading awareness of its invasive impact across the globe