FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Beatriz Gil – (917)612-4756 – info@hibridos.co
Nitin Mukul – (917) 251-0354 – nmukul@gmail.com
Friends of Diversity Plaza Jackson Heights Arts Festival 2014: Summer Solstice Celebration
Saturday, June 21st 2014
11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Diversity Plaza / 37th Road Pedestrian Plaza (between 73rd Street & 74th Street) Jackson Heights, Queens
The Jackson Heights Arts Festival is an all-day public event organized by the Friends of Diversity Plaza, a coalition of community members and groups that seek to engage the community in making the plaza a more welcoming space. This event will feature free art workshops, music, and outdoor art exhibitions to celebrate the Diversity Plaza, the local art scene and the arrival of summer. The co-organizers of this festival are Hibridos Collective and Nitin Mukul, both Jackson Heights artists and curators.
This is the second year of the festival, which was initiated by Hibridos Collective, a Jackson Heights-based collaborative working to re-envision underutilized spaces through community-based arts practices. “In collaboration with the Friends of Diversity Plaza we want to build on the local arts community, increase the visibility of artists that live and work in the neighborhood, promote community-based arts and open a dialogue for empowerment through the arts, “ said Beatriz Gil, Hibridos Collective member and one of the festival organizers.
“Our community represents one of the most culturally diverse zip codes on the planet. There is no better way to celebrate that diversity than the arts,” said Nitin Mukul. “This exhibition brings together community artists in a public space, creating both intentional and accidental intersections as a metaphor for the strong, vibrant, eclectic community we are.”
The Jackson Heights Arts Festival will kick-off with two art education workshops 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. followed by hourly musical performances starting at 12:00 p.m. as part of Make Music New York. This year’s Make Music New York artists were invited by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, one of the coalition groups that form the Friends of Diversity Plaza. The artists performing are Bethany Wild, CoCo Wade, Roopa Mahadevan, Nova Safra Bateria, AC Haley, Roberto Buscarsi, SA, and The Live Cultures (in order of appearance). This outdoor festival provides a space for local artists to engage residents and visitors in taking an active role to improve public spaces in the neighborhood. Local artists have been invited to submit proposal for art education workshops or exhibit their artwork as a way to highlight local talent.
“This is one of many opportunities for neighborhood residents to get involved with the Friends of Diversity Plaza and participate in ongoing clean-up, greening and art activities to bring life and color to the pedestrian plaza,” said Ed Westley, festival co-organizer and member of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group.
ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF DIVERSITY PLAZA: The Friends of Diversity Plaza is a community partnership of local organizations and neighborhood residents committed to making the Jackson Heights Diversity Plaza a vibrant and welcoming community space. By helping to care for and program the Plaza, we envision it as a celebration of our neighborhood’s unity in its diversity – a gateway to Jackson Heights. This event was organized in partnership with Hibridos Collective, Nitin Mukul Projects and the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. Funding provided by Citizens Committee for New York City.
www.facebook.com/friendsofdiversityplaza
