Session

About this Session

This session explores how organizations can activate unrestored historic sites through mission-driven programming while navigating safety, accessibility, and preservation constraints. Presenters from Save Ellis Island will share practical strategies for welcoming the public into fragile spaces without compromising visitor safety or historic integrity.

The session will begin with an overview of logistics and risk management, including the design and operation of tours and strategies for controlled public access to unrestored buildings. It will then examine education programming and initiatives to increase accessibility and reach broader, more diverse audiences. The session will conclude with a discussion of art-based and creative programming to demonstrate how thinking beyond traditional interpretation can transform the limitations of historic ruins into opportunities for meaningful public engagement.

Session Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify practical strategies for safely opening unrestored or partially restored historic spaces to the public.
• Understand how program design can expand access at sites with physical, financial, or preservation constraints through virtual offerings and the creative use of nearby spaces.
• Recognize how constraints can drive innovation, using art-based and creative programs to foster engagement with historic places that cannot be traditionally exhibited.
• Adapt the presented models and ideas to their own organizations.

Target Audience

This session is designed for nonprofit professionals, visitor services managers, site supervisors, education and public programming staff, historic preservation professionals, heritage tourism practitioners, and municipal, county, and state staff who work with unrestored historic spaces where traditional museum models are not feasible.

Presenters

Jim Dessicino, born 1985, is the Museum Creative Director for Save Ellis Island, where he developed the new artist in residence program. He is also the Program Director for Rome Art Residencies, Rome, Italy. He is a multi-disciplinary artist and arts administrator. Dessicino received the Faith in Form Award from the AIA Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture in 2016 with his collaborator Eòin Burke. In 2015, Dessicino was an artist in residence at La Chateau de La Napoule in southern France. He worked as a studio assistant to Titus Kaphar from 2010 – 2012 and led tours of the Vatican Museums from 2007 – 2009. Dessicino taught at University of the Arts, Philadelphia, University of Delaware, Stockton University, NJ and Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia.

Contact - JDessicino@saveellisisland.org

Irene Mone is the Education Program Manager at Save Ellis Island, where she develops and leads educational programming and tours for school groups. She also contributes to interpretive planning, guide training, and public engagement initiatives. Prior to joining Save Ellis Island, Irene worked as an elementary school teacher at Philip’s Academy Charter School in Paterson, New Jersey, and as a Program Coordinator at the education policy nonprofit organization, the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Irene is interested in using primary sources, storytelling, and immersive experiences to help students and the public connect with the human stories behind historic sites.

Contact - IMone@saveellisisland.org

Cheryl Novak is a Visitor Service Associate at Save Ellis Island. In this role, she supports daily tour operations such as coordinating schedules and managing private tour reservations, helping to ensure a smooth and welcoming experience for all visitors. She enjoys meeting new people, hearing their stories, and sharing the history of the Ellis Island Hospital with visitors. Through historical storytelling and public engagement, she aims to inspire others to build a better future by learning from the past.

Contact - cnovak@saveellisisland.org

A/V requirements

Projector and screen for PowerPoint presentation.