70 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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‘Lived Experience’ art exhibit at Central library features Rosedale artist
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Fine details matter to John Smith of
Rosedale whenever he paints a scenario
from his daily travels on public transportation,
whether it’s on the subway or
bus observing commuters in their environment.
Th e Rosedale artist is proud of his latest
canvas acrylic painting titled “Bus
Ride” that is currently on display at a free
public art exhibition that explores the
theme of “Lived Experience, responding
to the world we live in, dream of, and
wish to occupy,” at the Queens Public
Library’s Central branch in Jamaica, at
89-11 Merrick Blvd..
“Some people say they took pictures for
themselves and they paint for themselves
and everything…I paint for the people
and for the public. If not, I wouldn’t even
paint,” said Smith, at the artists’ reception
held on April 25 at the library celebrating
artwork created by 28 artists across
the boroughs that live with mental health
concerns.
Th e exhibit will be on view through
May 5.
Th e artists work as part of Community
Access’s Art Collective, which provides
opportunities through art for its members
to enhance their sense of identity, meaning,
and purpose in life. Th e Collective
off ers free instruction, studio space, workshops,
and other resources to help artists
sell and display their work.
Community Access expands opportunities
for people living with mental health
concerns to recover from trauma and discrimination
through aff ordable housing,
training, advocacy, and healing focused
services.
“I have the honor to work with a group
of artists and people who just want to be
creative, not everyone considers themselves
an artist,” said Amy Sharpe, director
of Community Access Art Collective.
“Everyone has had the experience of having
a mental health condition and a passion
and love for art.”
Smith is a 2019 Queens Arts Fund
Awardee for his creation of series of new
works based on the experience of commuting
on the subway and buses of New
York City. Describing his painting, Smith
said he wants to be able to communicate
his daily experiences of people that
he observes and how their environments
infl uence them.
“It takes me two hours to get to the studio
on the bus and train. I said wait a minute,
I got all these subject matters right
here just in front of me looking at me
for two hours so I started observing the
experience of what people were doing on
the subway,” said Smith. “I looked at how
their carriages were and how they act,
how they separate themselves for space
from each other.”
Smith has been traveling to the studio
since 2012 where he is an assistant helping
to run workshops and maintain the
studio.
“John Smith’s work is about isolation,
looking at people on the subway
and what it means to be on public
transportation,” said Sharpe.
“Th e intimacy of it and the isolation
of it. John creates a body
of work of certain subject matter
and he’s focused. But meanwhile,
while he’s doing the work
he’s also a part of the community
and supporting people and
reaching out to them and cheering
them on.”
According to Sharpe, the exhibition
is all about looking at personal
expression where each artist
has their own body of work and
their own interests such as the
environment or a love of animals.
“We have about 40 artists. As a
collective, we’re a support community,”
said Sharpe. “People
are extremely supportive of one
another and things like this
result where everyone’s individual
voice comes out and the way
that you’re making a body of
work that is about your life experience,
but also what you dream
of. Everyone has a diff erent way
of making art.”
Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
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