NEW MEMBER WELCOME // Albert Wilking Sails NYC's streets

Say hello to one of our newest members, Albert Wilking.

Wilking makes interactive and educational art experiences, and one of his most recent endeavors has been a massive mobile piece for the Pirate Fiesta, which has recently participated in the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island and the Gay Pride Parade in the West Village.

Wilking's current approach began with some donation boxes that he created for the Figment Project on Governors Island last year. "I saw my art being interacted with and collecting money for an altruistic purpose and it changed me," he says. "Previously I had been expecting that my art would be seen in a museum or with my videos they would win the big prize. Now that doesn't matter to me. If people interact with my work and they enjoy it, that's enough for me!"

"3rd Ward has a good number of really creative people that also know their stuff," Wilking says. "It's really nice to share and help each other; it's a learning experience from beginning to end!"

Wilking's pirate vessel involves a lot of ingenuity. "It's about 10' tall and 10' long when assembled and yet it still fits into the back of the car," he says. "None of its parts are longer than 48", making it a real challenge to have a modular safe seaworthy vessel."

Check out a photo of Wilking's vessel after the jump and look for future voyages on the Pirate Fiesta's Facebook page.