Queens Art Festival All Weekend

Queens Art Express Events This Weekend

June 15, 2011 / Astoria / Long Island City / Sunnyside & Woodside / Jackson Heights / Flushing / Art In Queens / Queens Buzz. I just returned from an evening at the Kick Off Party for this weekend’s art extravaganza entitled Queens Art Express [aka QAX]. The reception was held in the main lobby of Kaufman Astoria Studios and attracted a crowd that included people involved in theater, art, history, dance and business in Queens.

The photo to your left shows the lobby of Kaufman Astoria Studios during the Queens Art Express Kick Off Party. Click here to view our story and photos of the Queens Art Express Kick Off Party.

Queens Art Festival All Weekend

Queens Art Express Events This Weekend

Continued. June 15, 2011 / Astoria / Long Island City / Sunnyside & Woodside / Jackson Heights / Flushing / Art In Queens / Queens Buzz. If needed, use the search function to find story introduction.

Queens Art Express 2011

Hor d’oeuvres were served, and while there wasn’t any music, there did seem to be a gentle rhythm playing in the background as people seemed comfortable mixing by introducing themselves and their friends to one another.

The conversations ran from conveying personal vignettes, to discussing how to define the stage, themes and venues for a public art performance … life as art so-to-speak … to “did you like the doughy mushroom, the rolled macaroni or the breaded chicken”?

Some of the hors d'oeuvres are shown in the photo to your right.

Queens Council Of The Arts - Event Organizers

After everyone had settled in, an array of quick, short speeches were given by the Queens Council Of The Arts [QCA] Executive Director Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, followed by Barbara Pryor QCA Chairperson of the Board, City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer who is also the new NYC Cultural Affairs Committee Chair, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and Seth Bornstein Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation. Hoong Lee Krakauer is shown in the photo to your right and photos of the other dignitaries, as well as artists and digeratis are shown in the slide show below.

Jackson Heights - Tour With Local Historian

Conversation resumed, following the speeches and the soothing rays of dusk's sunlight slowly faded to grey. Tomorrow, Thursday, June 16th, the four day long event promoting the arts in Queens would begin.

There are over forty local cultural groups and organizations participating in the weekend program. Some are returning events, such as the Jackson Heights Historical Tour, which is given only once each year by Daniel Karatzas. Other events are sponsored by returning host organizations, such as the the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and Queens Museum Of Art – but include completely new works, and there are a number of newcomers this year as well.

Jackson Heights historian, Daniel Karatzas, is shown in the photo to your left.

Queens Choreography - Dance That Delights

I spoke to Steven Hitt, Managing Director of LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, about the dance ‘concert’ that is being performed on Friday, June 17th beginning at 7.30 pm. This concert, entitled Leap Dance Project Showcase, involves six choreographers who’ve created six original works, some [and parts] of which will be performed in front of a public audience for the first time. The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and the Queens Council Of The Arts funded this effort for which work began last fall. If you like modern dance or are curious about modern dance, this could be an interesting performance to attend.

Steven Hitt, Managing Director of LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, is shown talking to Vivian Charlop, Director of the Kupfenberg Center at Queens College and Maria Terrone, Assistant VP Communications, also of Queens College.

Art For Kids, Sound Art, Cultural Art @ QMA

I also had the opportunity to speak with Prerana Reddy, Director of Public Events, for the Queens Museum Of Art who told me about an entire weekend of events there.

On Saturday, there’s an afternoon that’s planned for parents and kids. The Queens Museum Of Art collaborated with Cool Culture Pass [Cool Culture Pass seeks to address financial, informational and perceptual barriers] to host an afternoon [1 – 4 pm] of art workshops, scavenger hunts, story telling and more - some of which will be hosted inside, as well as outside, of the museum. This will be followed by a 'sound performance' by Ranjit Bhatnagar. Ranjit is a sound artist, who will be giving a ‘concert’ with vintage toys from 5 – 6 pm. And on Sunday the Queens Museum is presenting a program that has something to do with the Incan Solstice from 1 – 4 pm.

Prerana Reddy, of the Queens Museum of Art, is shown in the photo to above right.

Art Reception, Exhibits, Social ... & Plenty More

Jennifer Junkermeier of the Crossing Art Gallery in Flushing informed me about an opening reception on Saturday for an artist whose art appears like animation as you walk by it. There are other interesting programs scheduled in Astoria like Sorta Secret Underground on Friday & Saturday, an East River Visioning session at the Noguchi Museum Thursday night [6/16], a concert and garden event at the Voelker Orth Museum and an art fair at Queen Of Angels Church in Sunnyside on Saturday [6/18] … but alas, it’s press time, and I must post.

Lynn Lobell, Managing Director, Queens Council On The Arts is shown center in the photo to your right. The Queens Council On The Arts organized the event.

Inexpensive To Free Events In Queens

Check out our front page post and the QAX section in our June Events Calendar for details of other events of the QAX four day weekend arts festival [to post later Thursday].

David Bromley, Queens Art Express Project Manager, mentioned that it's also worth noting that most events this weekend will cost somewhere between free and very inexpensive, and that there are discounts available with eleven participating restaurateurs.

David Bromley and Celeste Balducci are shown in the photo to your right.

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