FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 35
Young artists explore their creativity at unique art space in Jamaica
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
If you’re a New Yorker, you can feel the
beat of the city no matter where you live.
It’s even refl ected, at times, in the creations
of local artists who live and work
across the fi ve boroughs.
Free-thinking artist, educator and activist
Amy Simon (aka Amy Allure), agrees.
She’s a creative New Yorker, who digs all
that the “World’s Borough” has to off er,
especially when it comes
to art. Th e St. Albans
resident is the proud
owner of ALLURE
Art Studio, located at
197-05 Jamaica Ave. in
Jamaica, Queens, where
she was raised.
Simon recently hosted
an event celebrating
young artists who
completed her special
six-week art camp, the
ALLURE Village Arts
program. It began as
a collaboration with
another Black female
artist, Brandi Jones,
who also runs an arts
program for kids in the
borough.
“We had seven young
artists working hard to build their artistic
portfolio, and they fi nally graduated the
program. We celebrated them by hosting
an art show for them to display their
artwork,” Simon said. “Our mission is to
nurture creativity, confi dence, and culture
in every child through art. It helps
young artists learn the foundations of art
and merges art with activism. In the program,
students learn about artists of color
and use their artwork to inspire their own
style.”
Simon’s plan is to continue the program
in October and have the next art show in
December.
“We also want to have a winter extensive
program during winter break to keep
kids creating. Th ankfully, we were able
to receive a grant from VELA Education
Fund that we used to fund our art program
and will continue to fund the classes
in the future,” she said.
ALLURE Art Studio is a creative arts
event space where people come to learn,
to be inspired and to network with likeminded
creatives, according to the selftaught
artist. Simon said the space is “an
incubator for dreamers to cultivate their
own ‘allure’ and/or to share their allure
with the world.”
Aft er realizing that her true allure was
through the power of art combined with
teaching, Simon – who taught fi rst- and
second-graders for nine years – opened
her studio to merge her two passions and
encourage others to explore their own
creativity.
“I began painting at age 11 and have
been painting
as a hobby
most of my life,
but it took me
almost 20 years
to self-identify
as a true artist,”
Simon recalled.
In 2017, she
decided to fully
commit to her
artistry, with
many opportunities fi nding her. She’s had
her art on display at 11 shows across the
city, some of which are currently on display
in Kings Manor Museum with South
Queens Women’s March; was one of the
artists featured to paint the “BLACK
LIVES MATTER” mural on Jamaica
Avenue; and participated in a Live
Painting Event with Juneteenth Queens
that was curated by Assemblywoman
Alicia Hyndman.
With her signature style of vibrant colors,
solid paint consistency, and mixed
media additions, the Brooklyn-born creative
describes her work as centered
around “the beauty of blackness, femininity,
culture and glamour.”
ALLURE Art Studio, which is also a
community space, hosts public and private
paint events, mobile paint events and
off ers venue rentals, such as open mic
nights, podcast and interview recordings,
business meetings, baby and bridal showers,
as well as networking mixers.
“We provide a talented instructor,
musical playlists and good vibes, to make
it extra special,” Simon added.
Classes for “ARTpreneurs” are off ered to
help artists navigate the business aspect
of the industry as well. At the end of the
6-week sessions, the studio hosts an art
show to show off artists’ skills and share
their collection with potential buyers.
“Before starting the kids’ program, we
would constantly have people come into
the studio requesting art classes for their
children. With kids being confi ned to
their homes for a whole year during the
pandemic, they didn’t receive quality art
lessons in a safe atmosphere,” Simon said.
“Th is program is perfect to relieve stress
from the restrictions of COVID and allow
students to explore their creativity. It also
helps kids with social skills and helps
them build friendships along the way.”
Her studio’s art program for kids serves
children of color, ages 6 through 18,
across Queens.
“It’s important because there are no art
spaces like this in the Jamaica and Hollis
communities. Th ere aren’t many creative
spaces that host workshops or classes for
children of color,” Simon said. “Th ese
children may have art classes in school,
but they don’t have consistent, smallgroup
sessions to learn art techniques.”
Th is unique program also off ers “Read
Aloud” time, where kids read diverse
picture books centered around self-love
and confi dence, showing resilience and
accepting diff erences. Th en, they follow
up with a discussion about the overall lesson
of the story. Th e young artists then
paint something inspired by the book of
the day to create a masterpiece to add to
their collection.
Th e recent event hosted at ALLURE
art studio turned out to be a great success,
with families of the young artists
— 7-year-old Jeanelle Barrow, 10-yearold
Ava Lewis, 13-year-old Synnai Blake,
13-year-old Elaina Diaz, 13-year-old
Maddison Johnson, 13-year-old Liliana
Raphael, and 13-year-old Donovan
Ramkissoon.
Th e students, who hail from Hollis and
Jamaica, had at least eight pieces of artwork
on display.
“In their artwork, you can see paintings
inspired by the books we read and artists
we learned about,” Simon told QNS.
“Some had pieces that refl ected the artwork
of Bisa Butler, a black fi ber artist
known for her vibrant, quilted portraits
using African fabrics, and celebrating
black life. Some refl ected the book
‘Imani’s Moon’ by JaNay Brown-Wood,
about a little girl whose dream was to
touch the moon; she faced many challenges
before fi nally reaching her goal. Th ere
are also a number of paintings with glitter
crowns, skulls, and eyes to commemorate
the artwork of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Some artwork also has ‘I AM’ statements
created by the young artists. Th ese were
inspired by the book ‘I Am Enough” by
Grace Byers, which has a number of I AM
affi rmations for kids, and the artists had
to come up with their own.”
At the end of the show, each child
received a certifi cate and gift bag with art
supplies (a sketchbook, acrylic paint and
brush set, watercolor pencils, an art kit
briefcase with even more supplies).
“We want the kids to continue their passion
and provide them with the tools to
keep creating at home,” Simon added.
buzz
Photos by Gerry Fortilus
Amy Simon with a student at ALLURE Art Studio in Jamaica.
Amy Simon with a student at ALLURE Art Studio.
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