72 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 10, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
WED-SUN
As in previous years, we have managed to fi nd tens of thousands of
square footage for exciting pop-up galleries, which means a huge
amount of art of all disciplines from Photography to Ceramics to
Painting to Neon to Sculpture with stops on the route for Dance,
Music, Comedy and Events, Installations and Parties. Once again,
The Factory and Plaxall Galleries have hundreds of artists with a
wonderful range of art on view. Don’t forget, however, to visit some
of the smaller spaces and studios like Resobox, Joel Voisard and
Eduardo Anievas. Make sure to make time to stop by Studio 34, Flux
Factory, and Local Project Art Space. If you are wandering from
Court Sq Studios to The Factory, please consider stopping by the
SculptureCenter. There are many hidden and not so hidden gems in
LIC, which is why the place is booming!!
It seems like just last week that I was
wearing my snow boots (I was),…. but
actually it really is Spring, and here we
are again about to host the 8th Annual
LIC Arts Open!
I am proud of what we have achieved in
8 years, and the various exhibitions and
events around this year’s festival make
me feel that we continue to punch
above our weight with a dynamic artist
community that is fully engaged and
ready to tell their story.
This excitement, commitment and
energy is a fantastic counterweight to
the rise of the vulgarian class in Washington,
where genuine threats to funding
and lack of support for one of America’s
greatest exports, culture, is confusing
and disappointing to say the least.
To say it’s been a confusing year in
terms of political support would be an
understatement, but against this
worrying backdrop we see industrious,
dedicated artists and makers who
continue to thrive, evolve and take risks.
This year’s festival, similar to last year,
will host several really large spaces, in
addition to The LIC Arts Open and
Plaxall Galleries, to showcase exhibitions
where hundreds of artists are on
display. All the events are free including
Music, Dance and Performance. We
highly recommend the Open Studios as
a great way to meet many artists in their
creative dens, and hope that you will
also support the local businesses who
support us. In particular, the Court
Square Diner has been one of the
biggest contributors to the festival every
year since the Festival’s inception. Their
generosity is indicative of the wonderful
support we receive from local businesses
and the community. Likewise, most
of our current sponsors have been with
us from the beginning, for which we are
very grateful.
I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all
the participating artists and my team,
especially Tessa Kennedy and Seymour
Klausner. Thanks also to Offi cial
Photographer, Steven Speliotis, Production
Manager Justin Hsu and our
production assistants Tatiana Goriunova,
Aureole Ribes, Emma Trodella,
Alyssa Stearns and Caroline Snape. I
would also like to off er thanks to our
sponsors, who are fully credited at the
back of the booklet, and in particular,
we would like to thank Reis, Rockrose,
Olmstead, The Factory & Atlas Capital
Group, and The Plaxall companies for
the generous provision of spaces.
We hope you will enjoy the festival, tell
your friends, and don’t forget to let the
artists that you visit know if you enjoyed
seeing their work.
Thank you for your support!
Richard Mazda
Executive Director