Field Trip to Governor’s Island. | QUEENS MUSEUM ▪ New New Yorkers

On Sunday, Sept 27th a group of New (and old) New Yorkers gathered together to spend a day in Governors Island. Our group of about 20 people was primarily immigrants coming from different parts of the world who now call Queens home. Friends and family members (there were a couple of mother and daughter teams) came for variety of reasons. Some were artists who were interested in the art and others simply wanted to have an opportunity to explore outside of Queens.

After a short ferry ride to the Island, our trip started with introductions and a simple book-making activity. I wanted to give our New New Yorkers a creative opportunity to document their trip to Governors Island. With a sheet of 18’x24’ drawing paper we created a small folded booklet.

We looked at and learned about the exhibition (Counter)Public: Art, Intervention & Performance in Lower Manhattan from 1978–1990 featuring artists Jenny Holzer, Keith Haring, William Pope.L, Tehching Hsieh, Visual AIDS, and more. It was great to see the connection between the artists and New York City, something that NNY have become so familiar with.

After our gallery exploration, we were ready for Open Studio to meet the artists and talk to them about their work.

We talked to Queens resident and artist Damali Abrams about the Queens connection to her art and more. It was important for me that NNY meet artists who live in the borough.

We we’re very inspired by so many of the generous resident artists like Valarie Piraino , Jaishri Abichandani, Christine Wong Yap, Kathleen Granados, Ruth Marshall, and many more. What an amazing opportunity to come face to face with artists and talk to them about their practice!

After a very exciting Open Studios experience, we shared lunch by the water and had the opportunity to explore the rest of the island.