The recently opened “Heritage” art exhibit, sponsored by Long Island City Artists Inc., aims to pay homage to the cultural diversity of Queens.
The “Heritage” exhibit is partly funded by a Community Access grant from the Queens Council on the Arts, a grant which curator Carol Crawford, the Long Island City Artists (LIC-A) president, applied for.
The exhibit was set to display in March 2020 but due to the COVID-19 shutdown, it was postponed until March 2021.
The exhibit features 62 artists. On the LIC-A website, you can find a brief description of each artist and their work shown in the exhibit. According to Crawford, the artists are the reason for “Heritage” as much as the artwork itself is.
Artist Clare Stokolosa, who grew up in Astoria and has a Long Island City studio, is one of many artists featured in this exhibit. She began her journey as an artist when she was accepted to The High School of Art and Design in New York City. At Hunter College, she spent a semester studying art in Florence, Italy, where she drew inspiration from Renaissance buildings and the art surrounding her. Clare currently spends her days painting in both Cortona, Italy, and Long Island City.
Stokolosa is excited to have two pieces of work that reflect her Italian, Ukranian Polish and American heritage featured in the exhibit.
In her painting, “Dinner with Family and Friends,” Stokolosa sketched a group of joyous friends who were traveling through Italy together, sitting down to enjoy a meal in Cortona.
“I decided to make the sketch into a painting because it reminded me of my own family dinners,” Stokolosa said.
In the painting, “New Year’s Day,” objects that hold special meaning to Stokolosa are displayed.
“An old ornament and noise makers from my childhood symbolize celebrations and my family rituals,” Stokolosa said. “I made this painting while sheltering at home on New Year’s Day, 2021. The bold colors represent hope for the future.”
