Queens Rising Has Launched Its June 2023 Initiative

Following a successful launch last summer, Queens Rising has grown to include over 75 programming partners.

By: A.A. Cristi Apr. 26, 2023

On April 25, Queens Rising invited the cultural community and friends to attend a special morning to officially launch the Queens Rising June 2023 Initiative, and to meet other Queens-based artists, colleagues, and friends at the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park.

Additionally, the Queens Museum of Art showed their new exhibition on-view, Aliza Nisenbaum - Queens, Lindo y Querido, celebrating vibrant and vital artist Aliza Nisenbaum. For more information, please visit https://queensrising.nyc/.

Queens Rising officially announced lead sponsor Northwell Health and major sponsor Resorts World New York, both of whom were supporters of the inaugural Queens Rising last June. Following a successful launch last summer, Queens Rising has grown to include over 75 programming partners.

The morning's speakers included:

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.

Jeff Rosenstock, AVP for Governmental Relations and External Affairs - Queens College

Lorraine Chambers Lewis, Executive Director - Long Island Jewish Forest Hills - Northwell Health

Phil Ballman, Director of Cultural Affairs & Tourism - Office of the Queens Borough President

Michelle Stoddart, Vice President Community Development - Resorts World Casino New York City

Three representatives from the Queens Rising Advisory Board:

Karesia Batan, Founding Executive Director - Queensboro Dance Festival

Leonard Jacobs, Executive Director - Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning

Courtney Ffrench, Artistic Director - Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.

A month-long, multi-disciplinary arts celebration created to highlight the borough's culture and creative diversity, Queens Rising partners with the many arts organizations, multi-purpose venues and galleries in Queens to promote and highlight dozens of performances, exhibitions and cultural events that showcase the borough's artistic and cultural communities.

"There's no place like Queens when it comes to arts and culture. I'm so glad Queens Rising has returned for the second year in a row, so that we can all welcome visitors to our borough by showing them just how rich and varied our cultural experiences are," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "We hope you come and enjoy the many fun activities we have in store for you - bring your friends and family - and have a vibrant summer in The World's Borough!"

-Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.

"We at Northwell Health are honored to once again reprise our role as the lead sponsor of Queens Rising, which celebrates the culture and diversity of our arts community in the borough," said Lorraine Chambers Lewis, PA-C, executive director of Long Island Jewish Forest Hills. "As executive director of LIJ Forest Hills, I'm proud to say that we are one of Northwell's most diverse hospitals. A majority of our staff, and that includes doctors and nurses, live right here in Queens, so this monthlong celebration highlights the rich tapestry of who we are."

"Queens has a long and rich cultural history and we can think of no better way to help support the creatives who call this borough home than by once again working with Queens Rising to shine a light on the amazing work these artists are doing," said Michelle Stoddart, Vice President of Community Development, Resorts World New York City. "This celebration helps to establish our borough as a major destination for arts and culture and much like the work we do with our Red Wall Art Gallery, it creates an opportunity to expose the wonderful people who make Queens what it is to a larger audience."

"It is a testament to the collaborative spirit of the Queens cultural community that we are poised to launch the second annual Queens Rising initiative. Our cultural partners have banded together to amplify not only the work of their own organizations, but to collectively ensure that folks in our borough and in the greater metro area know the rich cultural landscape of Queens and all it has to offer."

-Jeff Rosenstock, AVP for Governmental Relations and External Affairs, Queens College

This initiative arose from an Arts Advisory Board meeting of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, where leading individuals representing various Queens-based arts and culture organizations gathered to form a Planning Committee. The larger Queens artistic and cultural community were invited to join various Working Groups to help with Queens Rising's programming, operations, marketing, and fundraising.

Queens Rising has mobilized the borough's artistic community to collaborate and create an opportunity to highlight and promote all the incredible people who contribute to the vibrant culture and essence of Queens neighborhoods.

Participating organizations will present work that highlights the immense variety of traditions and cultural expressions that make Queens one of the most diverse regions in the world, a borough whose resiliency and strength will overcome any present-or future-challenges. While Queens Rising's core programming will take place within Queens, the celebration will be extended throughout New York City, with arts and cultural institutions in other boroughs showcasing Queens-based artists and organizations.

Current collaborators include:

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