28 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JANUARY 6, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Queens children’s artwork featured in Fresh Air Fund’s ‘Portrait of Summer’
BY NATALIE LOWIN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e Fresh Air Fund curated and posted
an online gallery of artwork by New
York City children, including several from
Queens children, for its latest community
art project, “Portrait of Summer.”
More than 100 children participated in
creating a gallery of these creative drawings,
colorful paintings and digital art.
Th e Fresh Air Fund is a nonprofi t organization
that provides transformative experiences
for children from New York City’s
low-income communities.
“Portrait of Summer” encouraged
young peoples’ imaginations to soar by
refl ecting on their summer experiences in
which the Fresh Air children discovered
new talents, developed self-confi dence,
made new friends and had fun.
Ayesha, an 8-year-old from Queens,
thought about her loved ones.
“When I created my ‘Portrait of
Summer,’ I got to use my imagination and
draw! I drew my friends, family and me at
the beach because I wanted to show what
I do in the summer,” Ayesha said. “I can’t
wait to show it to my family!”
Th e Fresh Air children shared what
summer means to them as a part of a
social media campaign with the hashtag
#PortraitofSummer. Th e digital art exhibit
can be found on their website at freshair.
org/portrait-of-summer.
Zoe, an 11-year-old from Queens, based
her work on her camp experience.
“I love camp! I liked all the activities
and the new people I met. I like kayaking,
rowing and learning about the farm.
I added signs in my drawing, the ‘Mask
Required’ and ‘Caution Fun!’” Zoe said.
“When I think of summer, it makes me
think of swimming, arts and craft s and
fresh air!”
Th e Fresh Air Fund is an independent,
not-for-profi t organization that has provided
free summer experiences in the outdoors
to more than 1.8 million New York
City children from low-income communities
since 1877. Despite COVID-
19 complications, the Fund continued to
provide safe, fun, engaging and enriching
experiences for New York City youth.
Th e Fresh Air children can also
participate in the year-round leadership
and educational programs that the fund
off ers.
For more information about the Fresh
Air Fund, visit freshair.org.
Two Queens artists selected as winners in the 2021 Art in the Parks grant
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e Alliance for Flushing Meadows
Corona Park and NYC Parks announced
two Queens-based artists as the winners
of its 2021 Art in the Parks grants for
temporary art installations.
Th e artworks, “Going Back to Th e
Meadows: A Tribute to LL Cool J and
Performance at FMCP” by Sherwin
Banfi eld and “Th e Giving Tree” by Haksul
Lee, are on display at Flushing Meadows
Corona Park and will be on view through
Nov. 23, 2022.
“We are excited to welcome these two
great artworks by innovative local artists
to our park,” said Janice Melnick, executive
director of Alliance FMCP.
Now in its third year, the Art in the
Parks grant provides two $5,000 awards
to Queens-based artists whose winning
installations are located at underserved
sites within the park, with a focus on subjects
that recognize its cultural power and
environmental history.
Th e grants are provided annually by Th e
Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona
Park, the city park’s nonprofi t partner.
Located in the most diverse community
in the country, Flushing Meadows
Corona Park serves approximately 10 million
parkgoers annually.
Banfi eld’s 8-foot-high cast bronze portrait
bust, which sits atop a design resembling
a polished stainless steel radio, features
an audio playlist that runs through
solar-powered speakers.
Th e sculpture is located in the David
Dinkins Circle, near the boardwalk ramp
entrance to the park from the No. 7 train
entrance at Mets Willets Point.
Banfi eld describes this artwork as “a
sculptural sonic performance artwork that
evokes the feeling of Flushing Meadows
Corona Park as an event space, channeled
through the sonic frequency and artistry
of Queens hip-hop legend LL Cool J.”
His most recent exhibitions include
sculptures for the Queens Central Library,
the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia
Airport, Socrates Sculpture Park and the
Factory LIC Gallery.
Lee’s artwork, “Th e Giving Tree,” is
made of recycled materials collected
locally. Th e top of the sculpture functions
as a wind turbine to generate electricity
for a streetlight eff ect and to power outlets
for park visitors to charge their phones.
“The Giving Tree” sculpture is
located on the lawn area north of Th e
Rocket Th rower.
Lee described his artwork as taking the
form of a tree, “to bring awareness of the
environmental concerns in the Queens
community.”
Lee is a sculptor whose recent exhibitions
include Th e Immigrant Artists
Biennial, a group show at the Korean
Embassy in Beijing and the Phyllis
Harriman Gallery.
Zoe, an 11-year-old from Queens, made this
“Portrait of Summer.”
Photo courtesy of NYC Parks
Artist Sherwin Banfi eld works on his sculpture of hip-hop artist and actor LL Cool J.
Photos courtesy of Fresh Air Fund
Ayesha, an 8-year-old from Queens, was one of more than a hundred kids who participated in Fresh Air Fund’s “Portrait of Summer.”
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