By Bill Parry
The Queens Council on the Arts announced an open call to all borough-based artists to apply for a new residency program in partnership with two Long Island City hotels. The newly established QCA Art Hotel Residency will provide space for two artists to work in spaces inside the Z NYC Hotel and the Paper Factory Hotel for three months.
“We’re always trying to figure out new ways to support our artists in Queens,” QCA Grants and Resources Director Lynn Lobell said. “The big word on the street is that artists are being displaced by development, especially in Long Island City, and the Z Hotel and the Paper Factory jumped on board with us. They are two very different hotels, but they both support the arts.”
Two Queens-based artists will be accepted for the program and they will each receive a $3,000 stipend. The artists will not live on-site as the space provided from each hotel is not an actual room.
“At the Z Hotel the artist will have a space in a section on the second floor that doesn’t have guest rooms,” Lobell said. “And over at the Paper Factory hotel they’ll provide a space right in their lobby so the artist there will have a lot more interaction with the public.”
Artists of any discipline may apply and those selected must be committed to work a minimum of 20 hours a week. They will be expected to present their work in progress during the residency, either as a public lecture or demonstration or exhibition.
“It’s a good way for the public to gain an appreciation for the art makers’ experience and decision-making,” Lobell said.
Complete guidelines and the online grant application for the 2017 ArtHotel residency is available on the QCA website at https://qcasu
The Z NYC Hotel is a favorite of European visitors just steps from the Queensboro Bridge at 11-01 43rd Ave. which features a Jazz Age theme combined with modernist industrial chic in a 14-story tower with 100-guest rooms. The Z is known for its rooftop bar with stunning views of the Manhattan skyline, the East River, and Queens.
The Paper Factory Hotel is a boutique hotel located in the Kaufman Arts District at 37-06 36th St. The hotel opened in 2014 in a renovated 100-year-old paper factory and its 122-guest rooms feature cement and metal plus actual factory machinery to add to the industrial feel of the place.
“It’s the first time we are trying a program like this in Queens,” Lobell said. “It’s new territory for us, but it’s exciting.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
