The artists and cultural organizations that exist along the No. 7 train will be highlighted during Queens Art Express, which will be held from May 29 to June 14.
Queens Art Express will include exhibitions, performances and other special events.
Queens Council on the Arts (QCA) Executive Director Hong Yee Krakauer explained that this festival grew out of a publication that the organization revises every two or three years that highlights the communities along the No. 7 line. She said that the festival became a way to help launch the new brochure.
“We’re looking to make people who ride the No. 7 train on a regular basis curious to maybe get off two or three stops from their normal stop and see what’s going on,” Krakauer said, adding that QCA wants commuters to develop a “cultural tourist mindset.”
Along with exposing the community to the art that is in their borough, Queens Art Express will also give artists the opportunity to network with one another. Krakauer said that many artists in Queens do not know others in their area.
“We consider all these projects professional development projects,” Krakauer said of Queens Art Express and other QCA projects.
A total of 20 art spaces will be participating in Queens Art Express. One of the individual artists who is participating in the festival is Hector Canonge, a resident of Jackson Heights.
“I thought it was a great idea,” Canonge said of the project, adding that is was exciting to have been selected to participate. “I think it’s very important for our borough to have such a program. It’s very important because I think it’s going to call the attention of all the other art communities in New York City.”
Canonge said that he thought it was great that the project would be happening in Queens and that QCA did an “incredible thing working the galleries and other organizations.”
Canonge’s contribution to Queens Art Express is the public intervention project “100 Degrees,” which he is doing with fellow artists Chin Chih Yang. He said that the purpose of it is to raise awareness about the environment. The collaboration will open on June 6 at the No. 7 train’s 33rd Street Station.
“I am very excited to be part of such an incredible program that is making possible the visibility of artists in many different categories and in various venues and areas around Queens,” he said.
Seeing the other artists and their works is something that Canonge said he is looking forward to.
Being that Queens Art Express was planned prior to the recession, Krakauer said that she is most looking forward to seeing the innovation and how each artist was able to “pull the rabbit out of the hat.” Because of the times, she said that the artists have been working under many challenges and it will be interesting to see what the art will look like.
For more information on Queens Art Express or to see a complete list of the festival’s events, visit www.queensartexpress.com.
