Upcoming Summer Events at JCAL
This July, we're presenting a free two-day music festival, a World Cup viewing event, and our summer semester of classes at JCAL.
Also, don't miss the open calls for our two artist opportunities closing this month! Learn more below.
JCAL Arts Classes Summer Semester
Open For Registration
Classes Run July 11 - August 15
JCAL Arts Classes Summer Semester is now open for registration, and we'd love for you to join us. Led by practicing artists, JCAL arts classes inspire self-expression and skill-building at every level.
The summer semester runs from July 11 - August 15. Classes include Drawing and Painting, Cartooning, Piano, and more!
Learn more below!
Downtown Jamaica Riddim &
Jazz Festival Presents:
Dennis Collins and Steven Kroon
July 24, 7 pm
Jamaica Performing Arts Center
(153-10 Jamaica Avenue)
The Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival will kick off with performances headlined by Riddim Section favorites, Dennis Collins and Steven Kroon. Expect an evening of incredible live music by these two acclaimed artists.
About Dennis Collins: It has been said that the smooth, soulful voice of singer Dennis Collins, goes straight to the heart of all who hear him. Dennis has recorded and performed with artists such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, and many others.
About Steven Kroon: Steven Kroon has worked with such notables as Luther Vandross, Ron Carter, Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga and much more. He's played on an array of television shows from the Tonight Show to David Letterman, Jay Leno, as well as the Grammy’s. His band is a high-energy electrifying Latin Jazz Sextet. Their musicality consists of Jazz with the blend of Afro Cuban and Brazilian music.
Downtown Jamaica Riddim &
Jazz Festival Presents:
The Branford Marsalis Quartet
July 25, 6 pm
Rufus King Park (150-29 Jamaica Avenue)
Join us for The Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival, headlined by the iconic Branford Marsalis Quartet! This free concert will present the Grammy-winning band on July 25, 6 pm at Rufus King Park.
About The Branford Marsalis Quartet: New Orleans-born Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. In the process, he has become a multi award-winning artist with three Grammys, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.
How To Build Conceptual Art Panel
July 24, 7pm
161-04 Jamaica Avenue
As a part of our current exhibition Under a Plantain Tree: Notes on Liberation, join us for this insightful panel. Through a conversation about their respective practices, the artists will explore how conceptual art emerges from research, critical theory, experimentation, multi-media, and architectural assemblage.
Panelists will discuss the role of ideas, materials, and process in shaping contemporary art, while offering insight into the ways artists transform social, political, and personal questions into compelling visual and spatial forms. Designed for artists, museum curators, students, and members of the public alike, the discussion will provide an accessible introduction to conceptual art and its many approaches.
Featured artists: EFE Ramirez, Zion Estrada, Jeffrey Meris.
Introducing: Summer Arts Camp
August 18-27
161-04 Jamaica Avenue
Join us for an exciting 2-week Summer Arts Camp at JCAL!
From August 18 to August 27, students will meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm for a fully immersive creative experience.
Designed for learners between 4 and 12 years old, grouped by age (4–6, 7–9, and 10–12).
Each day, students rotate through three dynamic workshops in music, drama, and visual arts, led by JCAL’s professional teaching artists. This hands-on program encourages exploration, creativity, and self-expression, giving young artists the chance to try new disciplines, build confidence, and bring their ideas to life.
Perfect for curious and creative minds, this camp offers a fun and enriching artistic adventure they won’t forget!
ARTWorks Artist Fellowship Open Call
$5,000 Stipend
Deadline July 13
JCAL invites New York City-based visual artists to apply for its Artist Fellowship Training Seminar Series (ARTWorks), a six-month Fellowship that focuses on career sustainability and amplifies the work of emerging, underrepresented visual artists. While all New York City-based visual artists may apply, priority will be given to Queens-based BIIPOC artists.
During ARTWorks, six artists will regard their practice as a small business, identify entrepreneurial and professional goals, and generate a long-term plan to accomplish them.
Each Fellow in the ARTWorks program receives $5,000, paid out over the course of the program. Fellows are also eligible for free studio space at JCAL, comprised of about 550 square feet, on an as-available basis.
Meet The Playwright Lab Open Call
$2,400 Stipend
Deadline July 13
JCAL is pleased to open its application portal for the 6th annual Meet the Playwright (MTP) program, now expanded into an 8-month MTP Lab for professional development and showcasing new, unpublished, unproduced plays by a four-member cohort.
While MTP prioritizes Queens-based writers identifying as BIIPOC, any NYC-based BIIPOC playwright may apply. Applicants will be selected by a peer jury comprised of playwrights, creative professionals, and cultural leaders representing the diversity of NYC’s theater community.
Queens Get The Cup
World Cup Viewing Event
July 19
Collaborative Art Installation at 12:30 pm
Match Kick Off at 3:00 pm
153-10 Jamaica Avenue
We're presenting a free World Cup viewing experience, and a community art activity at this event! At Queens Get The Cup, you can design your own custom button pins and contribute to a vibrant community art wall pre-game, then join us for the World Cup Final!
Gather with friends, family, and soccer fans from across the borough for this free community screening, and art activity.
Photos of the Week: Riddim Section Season Finale
Last week, Mark Adams & The Ubiquity Band headlined a terrific concert that marked the end of our Riddim Section season. JCAL thanks all of the performers, staff, and attendees who helped make this season a special one.
Next up, the culminating event of our Riddim Section and Thursday Night Jazz series: The Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival. RSVP Here.
Photos of the Week
JCAL Pride: Be You
