New Culture & Art Form

The Queensborough Community College (QCC) Art Gallery has opened a new exhibition, “The Textile Art of the Kuba People,” which will share a new art form with gallery visitors.
Faustino Quintanilla, the director of the gallery, said that two of the goals of its various exhibitions are to introduce the community to new cultures and new forms of artwork.
“We did this particular [exhibit] because we never had textiles and I’m trying to bring all the media and all the forms,” Quintanilla said.
The new exhibition features 60 major textile pieces from the region of Kupa, Africa. Quintanilla said that the gallery began planning for the exhibition about three years ago.
Most of the pieces have come from collectors, most of which are from the New York area. Additionally, some of the pieces have come from the QCC Art Gallery’s own collection.
In order to select the pieces that would be included in “The Textile Art of the Kuba People,” Quintanilla said they looked in many different books to bring together a variety of pieces that would have different patterns, forms, symbols and usage. The textile pieces included in the exhibition had different purposes, ranging from being used by royalty to being used at funerals.
Quintanilla said that these pieces of everyday life are almost getting lost now because of the way society has progressed. However, he said these items are part of the legacy of a country.
“We try to educate people about different cultures and [the] beauty of art and [everyday] life,” he said. “I think that is what is the beauty and strength of culture.”
Along with having major textile pieces, smaller pieces are being shown to compliment the exhibition. These pieces have similar patterns to the textiles and are items such as hats, cups and jewelry boxes.
Quintanilla said that not only will the exhibition serve as a teaching tool for students at Queensborough Community College, but students from outside schools are also able to come tour the exhibit and learn about the work.
Related to the exhibit, the QCC Art Gallery is presenting an African art lecture series. The series began on October 2 and will run every Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. through December 18.
It will be led by William C. Siegmann, the chair of the Department of Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and will cover the Bamoum language, a historical overview of Cameroon and art from Sierra Leone and Liberia.
To find out more about the seminars and if there is open space, call the gallery at 718-631-6396.
“The Textile Art of the Kuba People” will be on display at the Queensborough Community College Art Gallery through January 29. It can be viewed Tuesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The QCC Gallery is located at 222-05 56th Avenue in Bayside. For more information, visit www.qcc.cuny.edu/artgallery.