Bayside is home to an arts and culture scene teeming with life, from popular local galleries to beloved installations.
At the forefront of the Bayside art scene is the Garage Art Center, a non-profit organization founded in 2020 to support artists by providing a venue to showcase their work.
Artists who showcase their work at the non-profit enjoy zero exhibition fees and take home 100% of the proceeds from their exhibitions. The venue also assists budding artists by promoting the event and hosting an opening reception.
The Garage Art Center has showcased numerous exhibitions since opening its doors at 26-01 Corporal Kennedy St. five years ago and is currently host a new solo exhibition by Peter D. Gerakaris, which began Sept. 6.
The exhibition, entitled “Topographies,” will run through Sept. 28 and explores how nature and culture harmonize through layered compositions, bold color and conceptual depth.
Gerakaris, born in New Hampshire and currently residing in Connecticut, has drawn on his experiences as a scuba diver for inspiration for the exhibition and will host an in-depth artist talk on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 3-4:30 p.m.
The Garage Art Center exhibition is centered around “Turtle Oculus Tondo,” which is a portal-like painting, giving viewers the opportunity to peer into an environment illustrating life and nature.
Gerakaris often uses his work to make a larger statement about the present state of ocean life, taking a hand-painted collage approach of organic vignettes with aerial perspectives of oceanic topographies, abstract microscopic details and motifs such as endangered sea creatures amidst undulating coral.
“There’s a certain urge we all have to romanticize nature’s creations, whether it’s wildflowers, rainbows, Bambi, or organic lettuce,” Gerakaris said in a statement ahead of the launch of the exhibition. “As much as I love these things, I also recognize it’s the same force that generates hurricanes, scorpions, and plants like Ricinus, a beautiful, decorative plant that also happens to be toxic. I’ve long been obsessed with this duality-how something so seductive and beautiful could also be poisonous.”
The Garage Art Center is set to host another solo exhibition in October when Queens-based artist Tina Seligman launches “Reflections,” delving into the universal beauty and diversity of water.
But the Garage Art Center is far from the only organization adding to Bayside’s rich artistic tapestry.
Every year, Bayside Historical Society hosts its annual Winter Art Show, showcasing contemporary artists from Queens working in diverse styles and mediums.
The 2025 event, which was the 24th annual edition of the popular art show, saw 82 works of art placed on display at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. More than 50 local artists and 20 local student artists from Bayside High School submitted works for the 2025 Art Show.
Locals do not need to attend specifically organized exhibitions or art shows to glimpse exception art work in Bayside, however.
Long Island Rail Road commuters using Bayside Station have the pleasure of walking past Ed McGowin’s “Bayside Story,” which artistically celebrates the neighborhood’s local history.
The art work features spiral friezes that wrap around the station’s support columns, bearing animal and floral motifs as well as bronze reliefs that celebrate local history and culture.
McGowin, born in Mississippi in 1938 and currently based in New York City, created Bayside Story in 1999, centering the artwork around Native Americans paddling canoes in a nod to the area’s storied history.
The artwork also contains references to a settler’s homestead, a Revolutionary war soldier, a farm and the nearby Civil War fortress Fort Totten.
McGowin also included references to local heroes such as the famous boxer “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, who was known as the “Man who beat the Man” when he became the only person to defeat legendary fighter John L. Sullivan and claim the Heavyweight World Championship in 1892.
Bayside Story additionally features depictions of a yacht and a checkered flag to portray local amusements.
McGowin said he consulted frequently with Bayside Historical Society during the creation of Bayside Story to help accurately tell the neighborhood’s “compelling story.”
“Community history can so easily be lost or forgotten… I consulted with the Bayside Historical Society and the community to choose significant local events and people,” McGowin said in a statement.
Meanwhile, CIDA, a Bayside-based non-profit dedicated to providing opportunities to individuals with development disabilities, aims to foster an inclusive community in the neighborhood through art, social engagements and employment opportunities.
In January 2024, ten talented CIDA artists celebrated their collective debut with the launch of “Utopia: Selected Works From The Cospire Art Initiative” at St. John’s University’s Jamaica campus.
Bayside, therefore, not only provides spaces for artwork to be appreciated by members of the local community, but it also boasts a thriving non-profit scene that uplifts local artists.
