Upcoming JCAL Juneteenth Events
THE JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS & LEARNING (JCAL) CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH
THROUGH ART AND FILM EXAMINING
LIBERATION AS REFLECTION AND JOY
Programs to Include:
Opening of a New Visual Voices Exhibition
Under the Plantain Tree: Notes on Liberation
Curated By Dr. Margarita Lila Rosa
and
Free Community Screening and Q&A of the Classic Film
The Inkwell
Featuring Q&A With York College’s Patricia Haggler
Queens, NY – May 1, 2026) – The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL), a cornerstone cultural institution in Southeast Queens and a premier hub for the visual and performing arts, will commemorate Juneteenth with a dynamic slate of programming that brings together contemporary visual art and film to reflect on the ongoing journey toward liberation - while honoring the depth of cultural memory and the enduring presence of Black joy. Taking place Friday, June 19, JCAL’s Juneteenth programming will unfold across its campus and is free and open to the public.
Under A Plantain Tree: Notes On Liberation Exhibit
June 19, 6pm
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
Kicking off JCAL’s Juneteenth celebration will be the opening of its Visual Voices exhibition Under the Plantain Tree: Notes on Liberation - a resonant, multidisciplinary presentation that situates freedom as an evolving and unfinished condition. Curated by Dr. Margarita Lila Rosa, the exhibition draws on the plantain tree as a diasporic symbol rooted across the Caribbean, Latin America, and the broader Black Atlantic. It frames emancipation not as a singular historical moment, but as a layered and ongoing process - marked by the shadows of delay but pushed forward by persistence and resiliency. Under the Plantain Tree: Notes on Liberation runs through August 14 at the Jamaica Arts Center (161-04 Jamaica Ave).
Featuring works by Ronald “EFE” Ramirez, Jeffrey Merris, Zion Estrada, Laurena Finéus, and Luis Gutierrez, Under the Plantain Tree brings together sculpture, screen-based work, and large-scale wall paintings in a collective meditation on the complexities of freedom. The exhibition invites audiences to sit with the incompleteness of emancipation—engaging liberation as something continuously lived and reimagined across generations.
Juneteenth at JCAL Presents A Screening Of: The Inkwell
June 19, 6pm
Jamaica Performing Arts Center
Complementing the exhibition, JCAL will screen The Inkwell, the beloved coming-of-age romantic comedy set in the historic Black summer enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. Directed by Matty Rich and featuring a standout cast including Larenz Tate, Jada Pinkett Smith, Morris Chestnut, and Glynn Turman, the film offers a vibrant portrayal of Black youth, family, and identity. The screening will be followed by an interactive Q&A creating space for reflection and dialogue around representation, nostalgia, and the enduring significance of Black storytelling. Q&A participants will include Patricia Haggler, PhD, Chair of the Department of History, Philosophy & Anthropology at York College, City University of New York. The free screening of The Inkwell will take place at 7pm at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center (153-10 Jamaica Ave).