August 3, 2015, Jamaica, Queens - Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL) is pleased to announce the names of the 19 artists/artist collectives commissioned to create site-specfic artwork for the Jamaica Flux: Workspaces & Windows 2016, opening April 16 through May 28, 2016 in Downtown Jamaica, Queens, NY.

 

The culturally diverse group includes: Hannes Bend, Adam Brent, Aurora De Armendi, Ayana Evans, Nicholas Fraser, Samantha Holmes, Anna Lise Jensen, Sue Jeong Ka, Kakyoung Lee, Rejin Leys, Shervone Neckles, Jeffrey Allen Price, Dominique Sindayiganza, Stan Squirewell, Thiago Szmrecsanyi, Ed Woodham; and Ellie Irons and Dan Phiffer, John H. Locke and Joaquin Reyes, and Lily & Honglei.

 

Jamaica Flux: Workspaces & Windows 2016 is a large public art project organized and presented by JCAL, a community-based arts organization in Southeast Queens, NY. Workspaces & Windows 2016 isthe fourth iteration of JamaicaFlux, successfully mounted in 2004, 2007, and 2010 by its current Curator/Project Director, Heng Gil Han.

 

This year, JamaicaFlux is expanding its focus to emphasize public engagement and contemporary art as a vehicle to examine and discuss solutions to critical issues in the community. The finished multidisciplinary and interactive works will be displayed in storefronts, parks, vacant lots, sidewalks, and other spaces in Jamaica, Queens.

 

Over the next few months, commissioned artists will visit the Jamaica community to gather content and context for their site specific work. They will then create a public artwork or performances based on their research. Areas artists intend to explore include the urban conditions of Jamaica, Queens; public interaction and engagement; community empowerment; environmental concerns and wellness.

 

The project offers artists resources to help them produce experimental art in public realms, engages community members on ways to combat negative public perceptions of Southeast Queens through art, and creates a forum for discussion on meaningful community involvement. It also increases the public's access to contemporary art and makes it an important and integral part of daily life in Southeast Queens, NY.

JCAL thanks the members of the selection panel: Rhonda Binda, Kalia Brooks, Heng-Gil Han, Cathy Hung, Andrew M. Manshel, Greg Mays, Simone Price, Juan Carlos Salinas, and Emily Schwartz.

 

For over 40 years, JCAL has presented and supported the work of emerging artists, women artists, and artists of color in Jamaica, Queens.  JCAL has been a cultural resource in the community and to all artists in New York City. Serving over 25,000 people annually, a central part of JCAL's mission is to encourage participation in the arts and contribute to the cultural enrichment of Queens and the Greater Metropolitan area.

 

Jamaica Flux: Workspaces & Windows 2016 is generously supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Greater Jamaica Development Association, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

 

Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL) receives ongoing operating support from the Mayor's Office, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Programmatic support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Queens Delegation of the New York City Council, and Councilman I. Daneek Miller, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, individual donations and our members.