A new exhibition showcasing the diverse artwork of the world’s borough is opening at Flushing Town Hall this week.
The World’s Borough Exhibition will open this Thursday, Nov 7, at the arts institution located at 137-35 Northern Blvd. The exhibition will feature artworks by over 70 New York City-based artists representing Queens’ multicultural landscape.
A private opening reception will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m., with a Flushing Town Hall member preview from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and a public viewing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibition can be viewed for free at Flushing Town Hall’s gallery seven days a week from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 8-25.
Curated by Stephanie Lee, a Flushing Town Hall teaching artist, the World’s Borough Exhibition draws from the borough’s distinctive neighborhoods, which feature diverse immigrant communities and global influence. More languages are spoken in Queens than anywhere else in the world.
“We are thrilled by the incredible response from all the talented local artists to our open call,” Lee said in a statement. “We invite visitors to embark on this visual journey through one of the most diverse regions on earth as we celebrate its neighborhoods, history, and the people who call it home.”
The exhibition results from the first open call Flushing Town Hall issued in the past 5 years, which invited artists from across New York City to participate. Flushing Town Hall received over 70 submissions from July to October, including paintings, drawings, mixed media, and photographs from Queens-based and greater NYC-based artists. Each selected piece is intended to invoke the cultural diversity and creative energy of the world’s borough.
Dan Bamba, Flushing Town Hall’s director of arts services, said the exhibition offers a “ unique perspective on what makes Queens such an inspiring and exceptional place through the lens of visual art. “We plan to hold these open calls annually on different themes, and we are excited to expand our visual arts program to be able to connect with and present more local artists,” Bamba said in a statement.
Lee has curated several popular exhibitions at Flushing Town Hall, including its Lunar New Year exhibition, and has worked with the Smithsonian affiliate as a teaching artist for many years.
Lees’ paintings are inspired by Minhwa, a Korean folk art painting, and she has held various S exhibitions across the U.S. and overseas, including at the National Museum of Korea, Islip Art Museum, and Queens College Art Center.
Her work has been included in numerous art fairs, including the Spectrum Miami Art Show, Scope Art Show, Fountain Art Fair, and Affordable Art Fairs in New York and Hong Kong. She received a BFA and MS from Pratt Institute and studied Korean folk art painting at Busan National University in Korea. Additionally, she is a founder of KoreanFolkAt.org, which has taught and promoted Korean folk art painting to the public through online and onsite workshops and exhibitions since 2013.
