By DaniElle Winterton
Open Studios was last weekend in Long Island City and functioned as part of the Long Island City Cultural Alliance's Summer in LongIsCity. The LICCA fuses eight of western Queens' most recognizable cultural institutions: P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, SculptureCenter, Socrates Sculpture Park, Thalia Spanish Theater, Museum of the Moving Image, Museum for African Art, Fisher Landau Center for Art, and Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs. To celebrate the kick-off of summer programming, these museums and galleries encouraged participants to make a day of it by visiting several museums on the tour, trying out a Queens restaurant, or stopping into a gallery participating in Open Studios. Melissa Wolf, founder and executive director of Women's Studio Center, Inc. on 44th Avenue, acts as a liason between LICCA and the smaller private galleries in Long Island City. This year she included Maureen Holmgren of Crane Street Studios and Juvenal Reis of Juvenal Reis Studios in her talks with the LICCA “because they are connected to the largest studio buildings in the area,” Wolf said. “We will work together to form a steering committee and hopefully an organization of the artists in the area É Their voices as artists really went a long way towards the organization of this event.”Open Studios draws artists, art lovers, students, seniors, and neighborhood residents from Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey Ð everyone from everywhere. “A lot of people enjoy seeing the art and artists in their 'native' surroundings,” Holmgren said. “There is a more personal feel to open studios than a museum (because) you get to see where the work is created.”Paul Farinacci, whose studio is located at 10-63 Jackson Avenue, said he saw a lively mix of people pass through over the weekend. He attributes the success of Open Studios to the pleasant sensation of getting off the beaten path, of “wandering around the little spaces in Long Island City.” Also, Open Studios allows viewers a glimpse into the private, mysterious realm of the artistic process: “the creative process and artists' methods are revealed,” artist Alejandra Villasmil pointed out. Long Island City is currently flourishing as a unique artists' community and has been for a long time, Wolf said. Holmgren said that each year “the number of participating artists grows and the planning for the event gets more comprehensive.” Reis noted that when he moved here from Texas, he realized that “the right community does not exist, you have to make it.” Reis now works with more than 60 painters, photographers and sculptors of 16 different nationalities in his studio, and he notes that “there is a great variety of styles but also a strong influence of one into the other É lots of synergy going on.” LICCA has many exciting summer programs and exhibitions planned. P.S. 1 is running an exhibit until September called Greater New York 2005, which features 125,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor gallery space filled with the work of more than 160 New York artists. The Socrates Scuplture Park offers free Saturday Yoga and Sunday Tai Chi, along with Wednesday night outdoor cinema and a vibrant Summer Solstice Celebration at sunset on Tuesday, June 21. Live music and art workshops will be among the events offered. The wide array of cultural offerings in Long Island City is what continues to attract new artists and retain loyal ones. As artist Anki King noted, “it is this difference that creates a large total piece. Out of so many strong voices we have a choir.”For more information, visit www.LICarts.org, or look for a copy of LongIsCity, which is distributed all over the city and includes essential information for all of the LICCA affiliates. For more info on smaller studios in Long Island City:Women's Studio Center, Inc.21-25 44th Avenue718-361-5649www.womenstudiocenter.orgJuvenal Reis Studios43-01 22nd St. 718-784-5530www.juvenalreisstudios.comCrane Street Studios46-23 Crane St.www.CSS-LIC.com917-691-2428Jackson Avenue Studios10-63 Jackson Avenue, 2nd Floor718-706-7063www.licartists.org
