LOCAL ARTIST’S WORK TO BE SHOWCASED
AT GEORDIE’S JOINT IN WOODHAVEN
BY JULIA MORO
The Woodhaven Cultural
& Historical Society will sponsor
an art exhibit by local artist
Mahfuza Shammy Rahman to
showcase her landscape paintings.
The exhibit begins Saturday,
June 26, at 3 p.m. at Geordie’s
Joint, located at 79-19 Jamaica
Ave.
Rahman, 31, who also goes
by MSR, was born in Bangladesh
and came to the United
States when she was 9 months
old. Rahman and her family
settled in Brooklyn for a few
years before moving to Woodhaven
when she was 12.
Growing up, Rahman said
her household was violent and
often made her feel oppressed.
After struggling with her mental
health for some time, she
started painting.
“Painting was a way of creating
a sanctuary for myself,”
Rahman said. “After I started
painting two years ago, I felt
like I was finally fulfilled in a
way I didn’t know could exist. I
think painting saved my life. I
hope that inspires other people
to do the same.”
Rahman is part of a group
of local artists in Woodhaven
called the Woodhaven Art Circle,
an offshoot of the WCHS.
Each artist has been showcased
in a Zoom series on local artists
.“
During her showcase,
Rahman mentioned that she
would love to have an exhibit at
Geordie’s,” said Edward Wendell,
president of the WCHS.
“We set up a meeting between
Rahman and the pub’s owners
and the plans came together
quickly.”
Rahman had picked Geordie’s
Joint for the art exhibit
since she’s been a longtime customer.
“I like a nice dive bar where
you can have a good conversation
over a beer, and Geordie’s
was that,” Rahman said. “I
would go there a lot, and the
more I went, the more I loved it
there. It felt very safe and comfortable
for me to be there.”
Restaurants and small businesses
are hurting coming out
of the pandemic, so Wendell
thought this collaboration
would be a great way to help.
“Anything we can do to get
people in there is a good thing,”
Wendell said.
One of the owners of Geordie’s
Joint, Tricia Robinson,
Woodhaven Artist MSR (Mahfuza Shammy Rahman) will have her artwork displayed at Geordie’s Joint at 79-19 Jamaica Ave. starting
Saturday, June 26.
MSR (Mahfuza Shammy Rahman) and Milo. Photos courtesy of Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
said she was happy to do this
for Rahman and hopes to gain a
few more regular customers.
“It’ll also give the business a
little more exposure,” Robinson
said. “It’ll bring people inside
our bar, you could make a new
customer or you could make
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people understand that it’s okay
to walk in and be around people
in the neighborhood.”
Rahman works on Broadway
at night as an usher, freeing
up her days to focus on artwork
that comments on deep
aspects of our society.
“I think about the lack of access
to meaningful education,
having to deplete your inner reserves
to gain basic universal
needs such as food and housing,
internalized racism and
sexism perpetuated further by
women,” Rahman said. “The
overwhelming grief I feel for
those things is the backbone of
my work.”
The artwork will be showcased
through July 3 and is
free and open to everyone. Rahman’s
work can be seen on her
website, MSRGalleries.com.
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