June 16 – July 1, 2010
Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 16, 6 – 9 pm
Artist Talk & Closing Reception: Sunday, June 30, 6 pm. (Image: "All The World in New York" Felipe Galindo, watercolor and ink on paper, 2008.)
Space 37
86-08 37th Avenue
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(No. 7 Train to 82 St. or 90 St. 5 min walk).
(Queens, NY- June 1st, 2009) -QMAD, Queens Media Arts Development, in collaboration with the Office of Jackson Heights Council Member, Daniel Dromm, invites the community of Queens, and NYC at large, to the exhibition BABEL, the first official exhibition of June in Jackson Heights 2010.
This exhibition explores the relationship of language and the visual arts. Through paintings, illustrations, photography, sculpture, installations, video, performance and new-media, BABEL will establish connections between the written word and the recent explosion of immigrant conclaves in and around New York City. Selected works treat the diversity and plurality of the written language as reflected, incorporated, and/or appropriated in visual arts, performance, and the moving image. The exhibition will be held at Space37 from June 16 to July 1, 2010, during the month long program, June in Jackson Heights, a multicultural event celebrating the World’s Diversity in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Taking as departure the ancient name for the city of Babylon whose earliest mention was written on a Cuneiform tablet dating back to the 24th Century BC, and whose multicultural population is also referenced in ancient religious texts, the exhibition BABEL challenges artists to think about the written word in relation to their work and if possible, but not limited, to community and the immigrant experience. Unlike the ancient story where people unable to communicate failed to meet their goal, this exhibition uses the written word as catalyst for visual representations and inspirations of a greater and diverse society. BABEL will prompt artistic dialogue around selected works, and among artists as well as audiences.
QMAD, Queens Media Arts Development, is a non-for profit cultural organization co-founded, and presently under the direction of New Media Artist, Hector Canonge. QMAD produces and implements programs in the arts communications media to encourage Queen’s multicultural communities to actively participate in the forging of an artistic identity for the borough. Based on one of the city’s most diverse areas, QMAD acknowledges the artistic potential of residents in Queens, and facilitates access to educational activities, cultural events and resources so people participating in the various programs can gain agency in their creative and artistic goals. All QMAD’s programs are FREE OF CHARGE and of benefit to underserved populations of the borough.
Contact:
Hector Canonge
Director, QMAD, Queens Media Arts Development.
hectorcanonge@qmad.org
Co-Sponsored by the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee.
Special thanks to Diane Macari and Louis J. Macari, principals of EXIT Realty Lewis and Murphy, a family run business, serving the needs of the Jackson Heights Community since 1946.
