FESTIVAL SUPPLEMENT || Celebrating The Arts In Long Island City
LIC Arts Open Spring 2012
Best Paired With: May 12 - 20 FESTIVAL GUIDE
Reis Studios Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
Joel Shapiro Pride of LIC
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The Last Supper 2012
We invite you to celebrate the iconic 24hr Court Square Diner with us as we wrap up the festival with a special “PAY YOUR OWN CHECK” event at the diner. We have a special gift for the owners Steve and Nick and would love all participating artists and visitors to meet us there on Sunday May, 20 at 6pm. Owners Steve and Nick Kanellos are for the second year running our Platinum Sponsors. They have given freely to support the arts in a year when the city is proposing a $47 million in cut to the arts budget. Support your supporters and let’s all make it a groovy closing with a side of Disco Fries!
Bill Bollinger: A Retrospective
Second Year:
BIGGER BETTER guide
eis Studios celebrates 10 glorious years One and Two and the LIC Art Center as of existence as they announce the well as nearby PaintCan, Mittman and opening of yet anFive Pointz creates other exciting gala totally unique area lery space for LIC. where more than The studio complex 500 artists are toilis a great example ing away yards from of how artists have each others studios colonized the vast and buildings. As turn of the 20th the number or galcentury warehouses leries increases that lined the streets which now inof Long Island City. cludes Jeffrey Leder, As the manufacturResobox, Radiator, ing base evaporated, Reis Studios, on 22nd Street LIC. Spacewomb as well these grand temples as the established of commerce and industry fell into disuse institutions like SculptureCenter, MOMA and disrepair and visionaries like Brasilian PS1, The Dorsky Gallery, and others it’s artist, Juvenal Reis realized that the artists clear that LIC is rising to a position of prethat were now being displaced from their eminence in New York’s always significant Village and Lower East Side garrets need- arts scene. ed a new home. Dereliction and a bleak industrial landscape in the mind of an art- As Reis Studios continues to grow and ist without a studio or home base repre- improve and many others are also taking sent opportunities to the open nature of a the plunge to start new galleries. This creative who ‘just needs space’. Reis Stu- organic evolution of studios and gallerdios was created in January 2002 to initi- ies is perpetuating the very real sense that ate a community of contemporary artists LIC is the place to create art. The genuine in Long Island City. With over 180 artists and thrilling renaissance of this corner of studios, two galleries, a dirty work room, Queens may be surprising to those who communal areas and easy access to sub- write off NYC’s largest borough. Times ways and the bridges to Manhattan, Reis have changed, Queens has changed, and is one of the largest communities of stu- LIC is leading that charge with Reis Studios in one building in LIC. Its neighbors dios and others showing the way forward. in Diego Salazar’s Studios, Wills Buildings
2012
FROM ‘HEADS + GRIDS’ -BETH WILLIAMS, Photo by: William Garrett
9 DAYS CELEBRATING THE ARTS IN LONG ISLAND CITY
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his year’s festival is packed with great stuff, much of it free. We hope you enjoy the increased amounts of Open Studios and our larger selection of group shows and exhibitions. Large amounts of column inches are created discussing the ever-changing skyline in LIC with apparent new buildings springing up almost ‘overnight’. With the increase in residences the new residents need new restaurants, food stores and services. What about the artists? Well although we have no scientific surveys, we believe that the amount of artists working in LIC has also grown exponentially and this year’s festival is a testament to the huge numbers of artists working in every conceivable genre. We are very lucky this year to have gained the support of property companies like Rockrose and HR Reit that have donated new spaces for pop-up galleries and have a greater selection of the kinds of art that is created in this great borough. With our extra square footage this year we have been able to feature more sculpture than before with Karen Dimit, Eliot Lable, Jack Howard-Potter, Chie Shimizu, Beth Williams, Kenny Greenberg and others all showing this year. Another new feature this year is our Nabe Night Out which over four nights encourages you to experience four separate areas within the festival. Tuesday 15th is Courthouse/23rd, Wednesday 16th is Queens Plaza, Thursday 17th is Vernon Boulevard and Friday 18th is Jackson Ave. On these nights you will find a range of events and receptions that will help you plan your evening. For example on Tuesday evening we encourage you to visit the Jeffrey Leder Gallery then perhaps stroll over to The Industry’s Rooftop Party on 44th Drive and finally onto the multiple receptions at the LIC Art Center and Reis Studios. We have organized the various receptions and events to allow you the possibility of not missing out on any of them because of conflicting times. Please also take the time to visit some of our incredible restaurants and local establishments. Many of them support the festival through donations of free food for events and a large number have agreed to mount special exhibitions; some notable places where you can find great food and art includes Manducatis Rustica, Alobar, LIC Market, & Malu. Hey, you can even get your teeth fixed and look at art at Hunters Point Dental!
LICArtsOpen.org || For Vendor, Artist, Performance information, please call: 347 260 9024 || info@licartsopen.org