Flushing Town Hall 2024 Arts Grants for Queens


This program is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
 

Community Arts Grant Recipients (for Organizations)
 
  Astoria Film Festival Inc. aims to empower historically-ignored youth between the ages of 15 and 30 throughout NYC, providing them with essential skills, hands-on experience, and valuable connections to pursue industry careers, particularly in Production Assistance, as well as an introduction to jobs in Post-Production: Marketing, and Post-Production: Editing/VFX. For more info, visit: https://www.astoriafilmfestival.org
 
         
        Eclipses Group Theater New York

Capoeira Luanda Queens, fiscally sponsored by Fairy Godmother Foundation of New York, Inc., will be hosting "ENERGIA EM QUEENS" (translated to "Energy in Queens") - a capoeira event in Queens to bring Capoeira artists and related African-Brazilian dance and culture to our borough through a three-day event of workshops with masters in the art. For more info, visit: https://www.capoeiracenterny.org/

Cayena Press, Inc. will host a wide range of activities and initiatives aimed at honoring, promoting, and educating the community about Hispanic heritage and culture while also fostering appreciation and understanding of the richness and diversity of Hispanic traditions, history, and contributions. Their planned activities include book readings of Hispanic literature, writing workshops led by Hispanic authors, cultural art performances of Hispanic dance and music, artisan workshops on traditional Hispanic crafts and more! For more info, visit: https://cayenapress.org/

DanceStream Projects, fiscally sponsored by Queens Community House, will present "Stories in the Moment: Belonging in Action", a dance project designed to amplify the voices of people living with dementia in Forest Hills. The project will connect people living with dementia and local community members to meet, discover and co-create a sense of belonging translated into expression through dance and movement. Over 8 months, DanceStream Projects will reflect on themes of belonging and co-create dances which highlight the voices of this community, culminating with a free public event featuring interactive dance activities co-created by people living with dementia and inviting audience members into a collective sense of belonging. For more info, visit: https://dancestreamprojects.org/

Dinizulu Cultural Arts Institute will be offering 15 weekly Dinizulu Master Dance Classes that will introduce the diverse cultures of Africa through music and dance. Classes will include choreographers from the African diaspora as well as Dinizulu's own African dancers, drummers and singers. For more info, visit: https://dinizuluarts.org/

Eclipses Group Theater New York is excited to collaborate with TeamTheatre in Andreas Flourakis' play "I Want a Country." The play explores human beings' search for a place to call home. Through the individual and collective voices of a theatrical chorus, we see real people with unique immigration stories, with their own individual reasons--such as war, poverty, persecution and abuse due to race, gender, religion, etc.--for seeking a new country in which to belong. For more info, visit: https://egtny.com/
      
En Construcción Reading Series, fiscally sponsored by The Jackson Heights Beautification Group, will continue their "New Works by Latin American Writers" series, which consists of four reading sessions during the calendar year (April, May, September, and December). In each reading session, five Latin American writers present an unfinished and unpublished work for 15-20 min per person. Writers are encouraged to share the creative process behind their work (the origins of their ideas, challenges, and concerns) with the audience and generate constructive conversations with attendees and fellow writers. For more info, visit: https://enconstruccionnyc.com/

Follow the Music, Inc. will be presenting The New York Son Jarocho Festival (NYSJF), an annual gathering where Son Jarocho practitioners and audiences share, learn, and celebrate their love for the music, dance, and culture of southern Veracruz. For more info, visit: https://sonjarochony.org/

Galore Urban Tech Inc. will be presenting "Galore VR Art Tour 2024," a 5-part interactive workshop to create art using virtual reality. Participants will learn about the facts of virtual reality and its uses, then enter the Paint VR app and learn how to use it to paint a masterpiece. At the completion of the 5 workshops, Galore Urban Tech will create a showcase gallery with all participants work displayed for their closing event where they will host the artists, community members, local elected officials, community leaders and organizations. For more info, visit: https://www.galoreurbantech.org/

Gamelan Dharma Swara will produce the creation of a welcome dance piece reimagined for a New York gamelan, culminating in a premiere performance at Hunters Point Park in Long Island City. For more info, visit: https://www.dharmaswara.org/

Glow Community Center will be presenting “Love & Unity in May,” a free concert open to the public aiming to bridge differences and heal wounds through the power of music, art, and dance. This will be a 90-minute multicultural event promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. It will showcase local AAPI talent as well as other global music and dance performances, both contemporary and traditional in style. Performances will be complemented by informative presentations from keynote speakers and the artists, with a focus on combating discrimination and violence against minority groups while celebrating diversity through arts and entertainment. For more info, visit: https://glownyc.org/
 
                 
Guardians of Flushing Bay                                      











 


 

Guardians of Flushing Bay will organize a four-hour, bilingual walking tour of Flushing Creek in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP) in collaboration with social practice artist Cody Herrmann and Indigenous artist Tecumseh Cesar. Throughout the tour, participants will learn about the history of Flushing Creek and its transformation over the last 100 years. Participants will engage with the Creek through with multiple participatory design tools, including a storytelling card deck. For more info, visit: https://www.guardiansofflushingbay.org/

Hellenic Film Society USA will present their annual film festival, the New York Greek Film Expo, at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria this fall. They will present five screenings of feature films and documentaries to a diverse Queens audience, sharing and celebrating Greek cinema together with their visiting filmmakers and talent from Greece. For more info, visit: https://hellenicfilmusa.org/

Hip to Hip Theatre Company will continue their "Free Shakespeare in the Parks and Kids & the Classics in Queens." Now in its seventeenth year, this program consists of a summertime, borough-wide tour of two professional productions, together with an interactive children's workshop, to eight public park settings throughout Queens. These productions are fully produced with vibrant costumes, sets and properties; they feature a professional company of actors; and they are free and open to the public. For more info, visit: https://www.hiptohip.org/

Hoyer-Zev, fiscally sponsored by Ridgewood Presbyterian Church, will work to expand "Fallow Frames," a project focused on educating Ridgewood neighborhoods on neglected tree beds, by inviting a selection of local artists to revitalize at least 15 of these beds. This could manifest as landscaping, sculpture and even performance. For more info, visit: https://alexahoyer.com/

Impact Culture NYC, fiscally sponsored by New York Chinese Northeast Association, Inc. will present "Songs of the Water Dragon," a 2 hour concert honoring the Chinese artists who have carried their traditional music and songs overseas and blended it into the world we live in now. For more info, visit: https://www.impactculturenyc.com/

Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc. will present “Through Their Eyes: Preserving Indo-Caribbean Histories," an immersive, multi-discipininary exhibit designed to preserve and express the complex histories of Indo-Caribbean older adults whose personal stories are largely undocumented, and untold outside of the household, yet fundamental to Indo-Caribbean society and culture. For more info, visit: http://www.indocaribbean.org/

Jackson Heights Beautification Group will present "Summer Sundays in the Park," a performance series coordinated by a committee of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. The series of 8-9 free outdoor concerts feature musical groups that reflect the incredible range of ethnicity and musical styles prevalent in Jackson Heights— a true crossroads of the world here in Western Queens. For more info, visit: https://www.jhbg.org/
       
     
Hoyer-Zev


JH Art Talks, fiscally sponsored by Jackson Heights Beautification Group, will produce five in-person and live streamed artist talks at Espresso 77 café on the third Wednesdays of April, May, June, September, and October. Each evening will showcase two or more artists. Four of the events will feature an invited artist, who we will ask to select another Queens-based artist whose work compliments their own. The one remaining talk will be thematic and highlight four comic artists. For more info, visit: https://jharttalks.com/

LiberArte Inc. will partner with NYC Parks Far Rockaways Amphitheater to offer a festival and celebration of Afro-Diasporic music, presenting Afro-Colombian traditional music group, Tambacum, during their 2024 U.S. tour for a special live performance. There will also be performances from 2 other Afro-Diasporic music groups, as well as a planned panel and discussion centering African descendant art and culture. For more info, visit: https://liberarteinc.org/

Moonlite and Nhà Mình, fiscally sponsored by Meals for Unity, will be hosting their 3rd annual NYC Mid Autumn Festival, a day-long celebration of the bountiful contributions from NYC's Diverse Asian American community, feating musicians, chefs, dancers, DJs, artisans, and creators. For more info, visit: https://www.nhaminhnyc.com/

Mithila Center (AKA Mithila Art & Cultural Center) will organize a Mithila Heritage Exhibition with Cultural Program to preserve, promote and celebrate Mithila Folk Art and Culture heritage. The exhibition will be open to the public for viewing and will be accompanied by a Q&A featuring the artists followed by cultural perfomances and ending with a certificate of appreciation presentation by the program organizers. For more info, visit: https://mithilacenter.org/

New Music Horizons, fiscally sponsored by Sunnyside Community Services (SCS), will present 2 concerts at Sunnyside Community Services in the fall of 2024 that will help give people a greater appreciation for new jazz and classical composition, while building followings for the presented composers. Each concert will feature the music of two different jazz and/or classical composers, who will explain the general concepts, inspirations, and motivations behind their work. This will then be followed by an informal audience Q&A session where people can talk with the artists about what they experienced. For more info, visit: https://www.newmusichorizons.org/

New York Kathak Festival will present an in person concert that features kathak dancers and Indian classical musicians, using their artforms to tell stories that center their diverse experiences with the goal of building empathy, inclusiveness, understanding, and respect. For more info, visit: https://kathakfestival.org/
         
Woodside Arts Collective
       



No, YOU Tell It!, fiscally sponsored by Greater Astoria Historical Society, will produce two 2024 shows where the storytellers' true tales are inspired by Queens' history from the Greater Astoria Historical Society (GAHS) archives. Storytellers will interact with GAHS historical resources to inform and, if desired, incorporate them into their stories. For more info, visit: https://www.noyoutellit.com/

Oratorio Society of Queens will perform Mozart's beloved and popular Mass in C Major, popularly known as the Coronation Mass at their 2024 Annual Spring Concert. The concert will also feature "The Music of Queens (the County)", with a selection of pieces written and/or made famous by Queens artists such as Aaron Copland, Simon & Garfunkel, Rodgers & Hammerstein, John Williams and Louis Armstrong. For more info, visit: https://www.queensoratorio.org/

Project Attica: Community Through the Arts, Inc's "Our Art Identity" seeks to inspire community members of Queens to reflect on what gives them a sense of belonging and ownership over the spaces they inhabit by using art-making opportunities through workshops and a community mural. The artivism workshops will prompt community members to think about the values that they want to see reflected in their neighborhoods such as respect, safety, and inclusion. For more info, visit: https://www.projectattica.org/

Queens Center Of The Arts will host and expand this year's Queens Underground International Black History Red Carpet Film Festival by adding more days to include more films and additional Filmmaker/Industry Professional Panels. For more info, visit: https://www.queensundergroundfilmfestival.com/

Queens Historical Society will support the completion of Richard Shpuntoff's 50-minute essay film entitled “Julio Revisited” and host a series of screenings of the film that returns to the subject of his 2016 documentary “Julio of Jackson Heights” – the 1990 gay bashing murder of Julio Rivera in Jackson Heights and the community organizing that followed – and brings it into our current social and political reality, and the changes that have taken place in our borough as well as nationally. For more info, visit: https://queenshistoricalsociety.org/

Rochdale Village Community Center, fiscally sponsored by Rochdale Village Social Services, will present "UNFILTERED Youth Talk," a the continuation off the pilot program that was part of the Rochdale Village Community Center Teen Club and Digital Minds program in 2022. UNFILTERED Youth Talk emulates the conversational "Talk Show" format and covers topics such as “Aging out of a program.” The group of youth also apply some of the STEAM driven methodologies covered such as, 3-point lighting, camera framing and composition angles, script development and hosting techniques. For more info, visit: https://rochdalevillage.com/

Royal Start Theatre, fiscally sponsored by Church of the Immaculate Conception will be presenting 5 performances in September 2024 of "Nunsense: The Mega Musical." It has all the fun of the original Nunsense that stars the original five nuns, but has been super-sized with new musical numbers, new characters and a large male, female and children’s chorus, along with a big show-stopping tap number. For more info, visit: https://onthestage.tickets/royal-star-theatre

Senior Theater Acting Repertory STAR is a touring company of seniors, ages 60s-90s, providing FREE performances at venues where the audience resides in assisted living, rehab, nursing home facilities, the VA, reaching multi-ethnic senior audiences; also libraries, senior centers and other community organizations. For more info, visit: https://www.star-queens.org/
           
         
Southeast Queens Artist Alliance


Southeast Queens Artist Alliance, fiscally sponsored by Forgotten Children of Haiti, Inc, proposes an innovative activation of its Zine Cart & Mobile Museum collection, aiming to dynamically engage Southeast Queens through a series of enriching art-making and learning public programs. Leveraging their multilingual-artist publications, SEQAA will initiate conversations and share information, transforming neighborhood sidewalks, street corners, shopping districts, plazas, and parks into hubs of creative social exchange. For more info, visit: https://www.seqaa.org/

Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) will invite Queens artist Ines Ruiz to lead an intergenerational workshop series based on her prior work, "Will I Bloom?" SCS will recruit 30 older adults and youth to explore youth and aging and how these themes relate to identity, culture, and community. Based on mutual acceptance and personal experience, participants will reflect on what it means to grow older in our cultures and society. For more info, visit: https://scsny.org/

Sunnyside District Management Association, Inc. will bring back the annual Bix Beiderbicke concert, utilizing two groups - the Big Band Swing Dance Music Festival and Honk NYC. The concert will be held on 46th Street, with a stage located under the iconic Sunnyside Arch. For more info, visit: https://www.sunnysideshines.org

Taplife Hero Foundation, Inc. will produce a National Dance Week celebration in Queens featuring hour-long FREE dance classes April 22nd-26th at Queens dance studios as well as a culminating forum and showcase on April 27th featuring industry professionals, a performance by #Taplife Company, and participants from the week’s classes. For more info, visit: https://taplifecompany.com

Teen Art Salon Inc, will continue Drawing All-Stars 3.0, a free pre-professional development program for high schoolers, grades 9-11 focusing on New York City’s next generation of artists. The program supports teens to expand their drawing practices and amplify their artistic ambitions. Through skill-development workshops and consistent studio time, young artists build confidence in drafting, planning, and executing works of art, culminating in a large-scale drawing or series by the end of the school year. For more info, visit: https://www.teenartsalon.com
 
           
Teen Art Salon, Inc.
         

The Queens World Film Festival will return for its 13th year taking place from April 16th to the 28th. Audiences will experience themed Blocks of local films paired with international films to promote dialogue around inclusion, opportunity, and representation. During the festival, members of the Queens film, arts, business, and political communities will host screenings and promote the films to their networks. For more info, visit: https://queensworldfilmfestival.org/

The Western Queens Community Land Trust (WQCLT), fiscally sponsored by Woodside On The Move will present "The Queensboro People’s Space Block pARTy," a free and public event that brings together 50+ artists and other vendors to showcase their work, as they celebrate their vibrant arts community and highlight the urgent need for affordable work spaces for artists, cultural workers, and small businesses. For more info, visit: https://wqclt.org/

The Blue Bus Project will present "Cycle to Recycle,'' a transformative community initiative featuring a mobile bicycle- powered system that upcycles recycled plastics into vibrant bricks, constructing a colorful community wall. Embarking on a tour across various neighborhoods in Queens like Queensbridge, Hunters Point and Jackson Heights, the Blue Bus will engage community members in plastic collection efforts. For more info, visit: https://www.thebluebusproject.org/

The Dream Unfinished will be presenting "VITALS," a free outdoor health festival with live music, now entering its fourth year at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. Combining live music with an array of local health resources, VITALS offers a uniquely entertaining and informative platform for promoting wellness in the Jamaica community. For more info, visit: https://thedreamunfinished.org/

The Garage Art Center, Inc. will present "Queens ArtConnect: Community Art Workshops & Artist Talk 2024." This project consists of four art workshops and two artist talks scheduled during each exhibition throughout the year 2024 at the Garage Art Center. Led by skilled art professionals with extensive experience in both artistic practice and teaching, the workshops aim to provide in-depth tactile encounters with art. Participants will engage in hands-on exploration, delving into the textures, colors, and techniques of the creative process. For more info, visit: https://www.garageartcenter.org/

Tiny Arts Supply, fiscally sponsored by Ridgewood Presbyterian Church, will lead a series of 12 monthly ceramics courses for beginning and intermediate students. The general two instruction topics will be hand-building & painting/glazing of built objects; students are encouraged to attend each of these classes in order, but pre-built objects are provided to those only able to attend one class. For more info, visit: https://tinyartssupply.com/

Un Colectivo Recuerda, fiscally sponsored by Wawakuna, will curate and organize two community showcases in the Spring and Fall of 2024, featuring short films from local filmmakers as gatherings for people to discuss ongoing audiovisual work that pertains to their lives and representations, and for filmmakers to engage communities in exercises of criticism, dialogue, and collective interpretation. For more info, visit: https://www.instagram.com/uncolectivorecuerda/
 
           
          Vivarta Arts Inc.
Vivarta Arts Inc. will organize free lessons for the public to learn how to dance garba and dandiya within a large space that will be opened up to all for an evening of community dancing and music for everyone to participate in. Half way through, their Queens based Vivarta Arts Performing group will be presenting high energy, folk inspired dances while the crowd takes a break to catch a breath and watch before resuming the dancing. For more info, visit: https://vivartaarts.com/

Wawakuna will create access to free music education to first-generation Andean girls and migrant families in Corona, while creating a sense of pride among migrant Andeans. Their project, Semillas del Sur (Seeds from the South), will produce the first indigenous Ecuadorian music band composed of first-generation Andean girls in the country. For more info, visit: https://www.wawakuna.org/

Women in Comics Collective International will host "WinC Creative Conference 2023." WinC Creative Conference is an event that would showcase comic book creators across the borough. It will be a one day show that will include workshops on comic book writing and drawing, panel discussions featuring prominent comic book creators in the industry discussing their careers and the creation process. For more info, visit: https://www.womenincomicscollective.org/

Woodside Arts Collective, fiscally sponsored by Woodside On The Move Inc., will be hosting International Dance Day, a part performance, part workshop experience at Windmuller Park in Woodside. This will feature 3 10-minute workshops and a performance on the stage by local dance schools who teach cultural dance forms, including Irish step dancing, Indian classical dance, Salsa, contemporary, ballet, and Bangladeshi dance. For more info, visit: https://www.woodsideartscollective.com/

Woodside On The Move Inc. will present "Queens Artists On The Move," a set of performances at their annual Spring Street Fair, where they host a variety of different performances curated to represent various ethnic groups that represent Woodside and Queens. There will be performances led by artists of Latin and jazz, Filipino, Afro-Indigenous Colombian Cumbia, and many more rhythms from other cultures. For more info, visit: https://www.woodsideonthemove.org/

 


 

Artists in Queens Grant Recipients (for Individual Artists)

Suzan Adélakun will lead a public shoreline cleanup with RISE and CUNY to engage the community in understanding our interconnectedness through mythology, folklore, arts, and science. At the cleanup's end, she will lead a youth workshop on found object sculpture building. By engaging in this hands-on creative process, the youth will gain artistic skills and develop a deeper understanding of the importance of environmental stewardship. To commemorate this initiative and showcase the sculptures created by the artist and the community, a reception will be hosted by RISE and CUNY in Far Rockaway. For more info, visit: https://www.destinieadelakun.com/
 
         
Suzan Adélakun
       
Brandy Alomar will present "The 6ixth Boro," a Short Docu-Series that focuses on the pillars of the Rockaway community and collaborates with organizations to create artistic and innovative programming for youth in high-risk neighborhoods. This project spreads awareness about the importance of community and acknowledges those who have positively served the community. The 6ixth Boro allows viewers to learn about the people and what shapes The Rockaways, with community youth interviewing guests to build self-confidence and inspire innovators. "The 6ixth Boro" aims to break down artificial barriers between science and media, lead to collaborations, broaden understanding of community problems, and increase engagement to explore solutions.

Rachel Brown will present "Resistance is Fertile: the story of the 45th Street Green Space", a documentary film that follows the resistance, transition and solutions of the 45th Street Green Space, a volunteer-run compost and garden project on private land in Sunnyside, Queens. This film celebrates what the community has achieved since 2020, and follows their transition into their final year on the lot. Rachel Brown will be hosting two works in progress screenings where the public can offer feedback, followed by two final film screenings accompanied by a discussion about the themes of the film, opportunities to take action, and a Q&A. For more info, visit: https://www.wanderingarrow.com/

Karla Florez will present "Bird Dance for Queens," a new multidisciplinary piece that will begin with two workshops focused around listening to stories about birds and females, learning the lyrics and choreography, and creating the costumes with recycled materials. The final performance is a  dance from the Momposino Depression in Colombia, incorporating moves from rhe Odissi Indian dance to recreate bird movements. The performers will interpret Tambora live music, with percussion instruments from India and Colombia.

Gregory Hammontree and Nicole Brancato's proposed new music, called "Transmit: Echoes," will be premiered in two free public performances in Queens, including Transportation Alternatives’ World Day of Remembrance March and Welling Court Mural Project’s 2024 public mural opening. The electroacoustic performances will create soundworlds for introspection and audience reflection by blending acoustic trumpet, electronic music, and deep listening.Transmit: Echoes will be performed with trumpet, keyboard, and laptop, and will feature field recordings and interviews in Queens communities such as Main Street in Flushing, Cunningham Park, and Queensboro Plaza. Because these performances will be outdoors, the ambient sounds of the surroundings, like birds and people, will be intentionally part of the work. For more info, visit: https://greghammontree.com/
                       
         
Camila Morales
           


Camila Morales will present "Fungal Frequent Seas: An Interactive Symphony with Mycelial Resonance," the living installation that creates a unique interaction between humans and fungi, using biosonifiers and video feedback. When visitors near the mushrooms, they initiate a myco-reaction. This triggers oyster mushrooms to produce music notes through a midi device, forming a myco-symphony. This symphony, blended with ambient sounds, activates a video feedback system. The system projects onto floating mushrooms, creating mesmerizing abstract visuals that represent the symbiotic relationship between humans and mycelium. The goal of this project is to transform participants' understanding of fungal life, fostering a deeper appreciation through this immersive experience of video feedback, sound interactions, and a captivating environment. For more info, visit: https://buenaondacollective.org/

Aimée Niemann will present “Thoughts from the Future,” an immersive celebration of Du.0’s debut album, featuring commissions by composers Emily Praetorius, Leah Asher, and Scott Wollschleger. This event will include a live performance of selections from the record, as well as an exhibition in collaboration with visual artist Beatrice Modisett, who created the album art. Together, they will curate a community-oriented experience inviting the public to a unique hybrid concert-art show at Modisett’s studio in Ridgewood, Queens, in May 2024. For more info, visit: https://www.du-point-oh.com/

Marc Nunez will present Gotham Dance Theater’s “Halo-Halo” (“Mix-Mix” in Tagalog), a dance world premiere showcasing street jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop movement by Filipinx-American choreographer, Marc Nuñez. “Halo-Halo” will both dissect and fuse together multiple identities within the Filipinx-American diaspora including Indigenous Filipinx, Southeast Asian, and the colonization by both the Spanish and the Americans. “Halo-Halo” will also include movements inspired by Filipinx folk and Latin styles in collaboration with Emily Hart Lopez and will feature music by Filipinx Artists. For more info, visit: http://gothamdancetheater.com/

Steven Palmore will present "A Historic Tribute to Richard Potter, Americas First Traveling Artistic Performer." This project serves as a historical lecture/presentation tributed to and about Richard Potter, an African American slave magical artist and the first person to travel across the United States as a performer. The presentation will feature drawn pictures of Richard, a discussion about economic reparations as it is an issue with members of the community and a magic/theatre performance with original music created by Steven Palmore. Palmore will also be leading an eight week magic performance workshop in which he will teach the art of magic performance to members of the community on Saturdays from July to August. For more info, visit: http://stevepalmore.com/
 
           
Xiying Yang
         
Regine Sawyer will present "The Queens Fiber Arts Festival," an event that showcases the work of local artists in Queens and from other boroughs. It will be held at the King Manor Museum in the heart of Jamaica, Queens. The event brings the art of craft making to a historically underserved community and makes it fully accessible to them by providing: free intro to Crochet and Knitting Workshops, free craft supplies and exposing them to the art work of local artists. For more info, visit: http://www.queensfiberarts.com/

Rudolph Shaw will present "Immigrants Celebrate Juneteenth," a celebration designed to echo the words of Schomburg through a presentation of songs, drums and drama from the African diaspora to celebrate Juneteenth. A participating artist will create a script that represents music and folklore from various parts of the African diaspora that are represented in the Queens community he serves. He would be supported by other professional artists to present an evening of entertainment and cross-cultural appreciation for the celebration of this important period in the history of Africans in the diaspora. The goal is to repair the social bonds that were bonsai during slavery in order to enhance self-esteem and respect among members of our community.

Patricia Silva will present "Bright Vignettes," a short documentary showing the multicultural Queer communities only now finding cultural continuity in Astoria. Filmed in Super 8mm color film, the narrative anchor of Bright Vignettes is the inaugural Astoria Park Pride in 2023, which featured Alicia Love (Miss Trans NYC 2023); Matza Bell; The Gay Mens’ Chorus; Justice LaBrave; among more. "Bright Vignettes" is comprised of super 8mm footage of the 3rd annual Astoria Pride March, footage of Inaugural Astoria Park Pride, audiovisual interviews with 6-10 people present at both events, and photographs of Astoria’s historical queer spaces. For more info, visit: queersborough.net

Changah Song will present "We Are What We Grow,” a collaborative community art project with Queens Botanical Garden that invites local community members to partake in textile printing and dyeing workshops. Open to the general public and dedicated garden volunteers, these intergenerational gatherings foster unity and creativity. This resulting community textile art work, a harmonious union of diverse expressions, will be exhibited at Queens Botanical Garden’s gallery. Beyond celebrating community creativity, the exhibition serves as a captivating lens through which visitors appreciate the interconnected beauty of art and local nature. The project encourages participants to be fully present, co-creating with others and nature, fostering a shared experience of joy and connection. For more info, visit: http://www.changahsong.com/

Paige Stewart will present "Freedom to Freedom," a project is sparked by Juneteenth. June 19, 1865, when the last 250,000 enslaved Blacks in Texas were told they were free. We reflect upon the effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and Jim Crow laws/Segregation we visualize what we need to get free from in the Twentieth Century. We will tie together story through dance, poetry and hopefully live music (produced or performed). The over arching theme will be liberation and escape leaving the audience with positivity. For more info, visit: http://thequeentut.com/

Jason Wang will present "STUY OR DIE," a full length play following the lives of 6th graders--Brian, Eileen, and Alex as they are thrust into an underground test prep center to spend their summers and weekends preparing for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) in New York City. As they strive for admission to Stuyvesant High School--a revered achievement amongst their Asian-American community--they grapple with isolation, guilt, purpose, and an absurdly difficult curriculum. With a countdown until the day their childhood becomes packaged into a score– the children yearn to fulfill their immigrant parents' dreams of academic success-- but must accept that roughly 3 percent of test takers are admitted to Stuyvesant-- and even fewer are granted the happy future they dreamed of. For more info, visit: https://jasontwang.weebly.com/
 
         
       
Jing Xu
Jing Xu will present "I will be, and what can I do?," a series of workshops for the community focusing on various artistic activities, including coloring, mask-making, and poster-making. The project will include three 2-hour workshops with three subjects, each catering to a specific age group and focused on developing other learning skills. Each workshop will last approximately two hours and consist of three parts. For more info, visit: https://ellenjingxu.com/

Jiemin Yang will present "Portraits of the Moon," a dance project celebrating Chinese heritage through contemporary dance. Inspired by the moon's symbolism in Chinese culture, the piece integrates movements, texts, vocals, and an original sound score. The moon, representing nostalgia, abundance, hope, and love, holds personal significance as a reminder of Jiemin Yang's upbringing, identity, heritage, and family. Drawing inspiration from Chinese poetry, literature, folklore, and arts, Yang will create movement vocabulary that are influenced by their contemporary dance practices and Chinese movement arts like Tai Chi, Kungfu, and folk dance. For more info, visit: http://www.jieminyang.art/

Xiying Yang will present "Portraits of Asian Immigrant Families," a public art project portraying Asian immigrants in Queens, NY. For the project design, the artist will engage with Asian immigrant community members through interviews on their families' immigrant experiences and conduct in-depth research on the historical and societal context. The project aims at creating more representations of Asian immigrants in contemporary art. "Portraits of Asian Immigrant Families" will produce a series of durable banners for outdoor installation, which will launch at Kissena Corridor Park, near the Evergreen Community Garden, a popular community space where many Queens residents enjoy gathering daily. For more info, visit: https://lilyhonglei.net/?page_id=1043