LIC artist featured in Queens Heritage Art Exhibit
celebrating cultural diversity
Astoria’s Halletts Point Play to debut theatrical drive-in
BY BILL PARRY
As City Hall lays the
groundwork toward reopening
Broadway shows in
September following the
yearlong COVID-19 shutdown,
a theatrical drive-in
experience is set to debut in
western Queens.
The Durst Organization,
owner of Halletts Point Play
in Astoria, is bringing back
Resounding, an immersive
live-audio entertainment company,
for a monthlong residency
at Radial Park.
Resounding will perform
and simulcast five immersive
audio plays in five weeks beginning
April 23, helmed by
creative director Steve Wargo,
including a remount of the
company’s popular “Treasure
Island”; an adaptation of
Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”;
a new ghost thriller, “Beyond
the Vail”; an unauthorized
parody in lambic pentameter
of a classic film script, “Clueth”;
and “Triassic Parq: The
Musical.”
“Creating and performing
five pieces in five weeks
is a daunting task, but this is
a time for valor, a time to remind
the world how brave and
stalwart NYC actors and artists
are,” Wargo said. “We’ve
all waited a year for this moment,
and we accept this challenge
with confidence.”
Audiences can enjoy the
interactive, theatrical show
from the safety of their own
TIMESLEDGER | Q 22 NS.COM | APRIL 2-APRIL 8, 2021
vehicles or via reserved picnic
tables spaced appropriately
for social distancing. Halletts
Point Play is a 50,000-squarefoot
open-air cultural, recreational
and events venue
located at 27-50 First St. along
the East River waterfront.
Following the requirements
Courtesy of Clare Stokolosa
of government health
officials, Radial Park will
continue to implement strict
health and safety protocols
including temperature
checks upon arrival via an
infrared, touchless thermometer;
color-coded wristbands
for social distancing;
and more measures.
“This is an incredible opportunity
at this pivotal moment
in history to bring live
performances back to New
York in a manner which is safe
for everyone involved, and
ambitious enough to satisfy
the audiences of the greatest
city in the world,” said Blair
Russell, director of operations
for Resounding.
Audiences will have the
opportunity to experience the
broadcast in person, “silent
disco” style, at Radial Park or
remotely via livestream.
Remote audiences are encouraged
to enjoy a “night
out, in” with exclusive access
to dinner menu suggestions,
themed decor inspiration and
a custom cocktail recipe for
each show, created and curated
by award-winning NYC
bartender Jena Ellwood.
Performances will be held
every Friday and Saturday
from April 23 to May 22 and
at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 23.
Tickets start at $10 and are
now on sale at their website.
Additional free tickets
will be available to NYCHA
Astoria Houses residents via
digital lottery.
BY SOFIA VALDES
The recently opened “Heritage”
art exhibit, sponsored by
Long Island City Artists Inc.,
aims to pay homage to the cultural
diversity of Queens.
The “Heritage” exhibit is
partly funded by a Community
Access grant from the
Queens Council on the Arts,
a grant which curator Carol
Crawford, the Long Island
City Artists (LIC-A) president,
applied for.
The exhibit was set to display
in March 2020 but due to
the COVID-19 shutdown, it was
postponed until March 2021.
The exhibit features 62 artists.
On the LIC-A website, you
can find a brief description
of each artist and their work
shown in the exhibit. According
to Crawford, the artists
are the reason for “Heritage”
as much as the artwork itself
is.
Artist Clare Stokolosa, who
grew up in Astoria and has a
Long Island City studio, is one
of many artists featured in this
exhibit. She began her journey
as an artist when she was accepted
to The High School of
Art and Design in New York
City. At Hunter College, she
spent a semester studying art
in Florence, Italy, where she
drew inspiration from Renaissance
buildings and the art
surrounding her. Clare currently
spends her days painting
in both Cortona, Italy, and
Long Island City.
Stokolosa is excited to have
two pieces of work that reflect
her Italian, Ukranian Polish
and American heritage featured
in the exhibit.
In her painting, “Dinner
with Family and Friends,”
Stokolosa sketched a group of
joyous friends who were traveling
through Italy together,
sitting down to enjoy a meal in
Cortona.
“I decided to make the
sketch into a painting because
it reminded me of my own family
dinners,” Stokolosa said.
In the painting, “New
Year’s Day,” objects that hold
special meaning to Stokolosa
are displayed.
“An old ornament and
noise makers from my childhood
symbolize celebrations
and my family rituals,” Stokolosa
said. “I made this painting
while sheltering at home
on New Year’s Day, 2021. The
bold colors represent hope for
the future.”
Another artist featured
is Adam Hoch, a native New
Yorker who studied art at
Pace University. He has been
an artist for 10 years now, photographing
first, and painting
for the past two years. He has
been volunteering with the
Greater Astoria Historical Society
for the last 15 years.
“The inspiration behind
my work are color-field painters,
Asian arts, Bauhaus,”
Hoch said.
Hoch has two acrylic
on canvas pieces as well as
an acrylic on up-cycled paper
piece in the “Heritage”
exhibit.
“These are environmental
pieces — it was World Water
Day 2021 on March 22, and
Earth Day is coming up,” Hoch
said. “My painting, ‘Marsh,’ is
celebrating the fresh water for
all.”
To see the artwork made by
Stokolosa, Hoch and the 60 other
talented artists, please visit
the virtual exhibit at www.
licartists.org/heritageshow.
Curated by Crawford, the
“Heritage” exhibit is supported
by the Queens Council on
the Arts, New York City Department
of Cultural Affairs
and the Greater New York
Arts Development Fund.
The show may become
available for in-person viewing
as health guidelines
permit.
Resounding is bringing theatrical drive-in performances to Radial Park in Astoria beginning next
month. Courtesy of Resounding
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