34 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARCH 4, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Queens County Farm reveals new 2021 crop plan
Two art exhibitions depicting catastrophic
2020 announced at St. John’s University
BY SOFIA VALDES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
St. John’s University announced
the opening of two art exhibitions
featuring the unprecedented
challenges of the year 2020 at
the Dr. M.T. Geoff rey Yeh Art
Gallery.
The exhibition, “Azikiwe
Mohammed: 11439-3902,” will
be on view at the Yeh Art Gallery
from Feb. 10 to April 25. Th e second
exhibition, “Unprecedented:
Posters from a World on Pause,”
will be an online exhibition that
one can access here from Feb. 1
to March 30.
“11439-39202” features works
inspired by stories from Queens
residents during the year 2020,
as well as Mohammed’s own
journey through the borough.
Presenting a new series of
large-scale quilted and embroidered
works, this is the fi rst exhibition
to focus on Mohammed’s
fi ber art, a style of art that uses
textiles. Th is exhibition looks
at the larger-scale, underlying
issues of inequality that the virus
has uncovered in places like
Jamaica, Queens, and Jackson,
Miss., as told through the lived
experiences of the Black, brown
and marginalized communities
across America. Th e quilts are
displayed in an enveloping log
cabin environment, alluding to
the domestic spaces where quilts
have been traditionally produced.
Th e Coby Foundation,
Ltd. is a supporter of this exhibition.
“Unprecedented: Posters
from a World on Pause” features
St. John’s fi rst virtual exhibition
created by students in the
M.A. Museum Administration
Program: Taylor Lyons ‘21,
Madeleine Schulz ‘21, Stephanie
Zambrana ‘21 and Mengke
Zhang ‘22.
Th e exhibition displays around
35 posters, gifs and videotapes
that were handpicked from
thousands of artworks provided
by the activist organization
Amplifi er Foundation as well as
Th e United Nations, which partnered
with UK-based online art
network and brand collaboration
agency, Talenthouse Business.
In their selection process, the
student curators researched and
organized the exhibition around
“Borderless Hygiene,” “Social
Justice Amidst a Pandemic,”
“What We Owe Each Other” and
“Pandemic Heroes” themes. Th is
3-D virtual exhibit takes place
in a museum with two rooms.
It includes interactive labels that
contain the students’ research on
the exhibited artifacts.
“I hope visitors also take time
to visit the virtual exhibition’s
second room, where they can
watch a 30-minute videotaped
conversation among the student
curators about their collaborative
work to realize this impressive
project,” said Dr. Susan
Rosenberg, director of the M.A.
Museum program, who oversaw
the student’s curatorial project.
Since its launch in September
1994, the Dr. M.T. Geoff rey Yeh
Art Gallery has been committed
to exhibiting all forms of contemporary
artwork by featuring
the Queens campus works of
art. Th e gallery highlights wellknown
and emerging artists of
regional, national, and international
backgrounds.
Some of its recent exhibitions
included “Particia Domínguez:
Planetary Tears,” “Chen
Dongfan: Sanctuary”and “Fevzi
Yazici: DARK WHITE.”
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Floral Park Farm, which has
fed New Yorkers for over 300
years, announced a slate of new
crops coming to its land in 2021.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Queens
County Farm Museum (QCF)
detailed its 2021 crop plan that
includes over 30 new varieties of
fruits, vegetables, herbs and fl owers,
bringing its total to over 200
types of produce. Th e 47-acre
farm, located at 73-50 Little Neck
Pkwy., is the city’s largest tract of
farmland and has been continuously
used since 1697.
Th e new plan brings a plethora
of crops including artichokes, a
Mardi Gras blend of bush beans,
beet greens, Eastern Magic broccoli,
Merlot Napa cabbage, celery,
collard greens, cucamelons,
ginger, Coastal Star lettuce, mini
honeydew and watermelon, red
Carmine Splendor okra, poblano
peppers, Sugar Rush Cream
hot peppers, red potatoes, Yukon
potatoes, pie pumpkin, strawberry
spinach, patty pan squash,
spaghetti squash, acorn squash,
two sweet potato varieties, two
tomato varieties, new cherry
tomatoes, turmeric and zaatar.
Queens County Farm forecasted
it would be able to increase
its food production by 38 percent
due to its acquisition of new
acreage, including 1.6 acres of
original land previously annexed
by the state in 2020.
In 2020, the farm reportedly
harvested 14,000 pounds, 6,900
bunches and 2,700 pints of food
in addition to producing 3,500
eggs, 600 pounds of honey, 225
packages of herbal tea and 100
skeins of yarn.
Starting on May 12, Queens
County Farm is bringing back
its on-site seasonal farmstand
and during the week of June 14,
the farm is continuing its partnership
with Jamaica Hospital
Medical Center, bringing fresh
produce to an area that lacks
viable options. Both locations
accept SNAP/EBT benefi ts, WIC,
FMNP checks, Health Bucks and
Fresh Connect Checks.
Queens County Farm Museum
is an accessible site is open for
free, daily admission 354 days
a year. Th e farm is also hiring
seasonal farmers to support its
expansion. To learn more, visit
queensfarm.com.
Sunday,
March 14 at 10am
Tuesday,
March 16 at 7:30pm
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