LIC Arts Announces Ninth Annual Festival

LIC Arts Open is proud to announce its ninth annual festival, which will take place in and around Long Island City, Queens between May 18th - 19, 2019.

Founded by local artists Karen Dimmit and Richard Mazda in 2011 to bring attention to Long Island City's vibrant art scene through an intensive program, the five-day long festival aims to attract visitors from five boroughs and further with an ambitious public program.

The core mission of the LIC Arts Open is to strengthen the dialogue between the public and Long Island City-based artists; therefore, artist studios located around the neighborhood will remain open throughout the event for the public to interact with the artists and experience the creative the vibrancy of West Queens. Additionally, local galleries and other businesses will collaborate with the festival and create a conversation around art that benefits the entire community, residents, and visitors.

During the festival there are various events and exhibitions at multiple venues that mostly fall within the 11101 zip code.

Events include a weeklong series of new music events from Random Access Music's Queens New Music Festival at The Secret Theatre. From original classical works to 'new music' from today's avant-garde movement this the festival runs concurrent to LIC Arts Open and is a core component.

EVENTS and EXHIBITIONS

The area boasts two large galleries, The Factory and The Plaxall galleries which are both around 12,000 sq. ft. The Factory's gallery spaces are split between two large shows - Bark Frameworks present 'Unhinged' a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring works from this employee-owned collective in the smaller LIC Arts Open Gallery with the larger Raw Gallery, also on the ground floor, offering a huge selection of varied works from over 40 artists. Complementing these two giant spaces we are pleased to present other exhibitions in smaller more intimate spaces such as Communitea, Local Project Gallery and The Local NYC.

Other notable events Talk Back at Flux Factory, Plastique at The Plaxall Gallery,

OPEN STUDIOS

Once again on May 18th and 19th hundreds of artists will open their doors from 12 noon to 6 pm to welcome visitors and art lovers who get to sneak a peak at the processes and secret lives of the artists who normally toil away behind closed doors. The Open Studios event is a stunning reminder of the diversity and the breadth of talent among the LIC Arts Community. There are new studio buildings to visit this year including the brand new Departure Studios, Radiator and Queens Medallion. Be sure to include a visit to Studio 34 off of the 36th St stop on the M/R, or newer spaces like New York Minded.

Please visit licartsopen.com to view the daily festival schedule and remain updated about upcoming events and openings every hour throughout the five-day program. The mailing address is 44-02 23rd street #321 Long Island City, NY 11101.

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