Major Festivals + More!
JCAL Membership is Back!
Free Access To Concerts, Workshops + More!
Jamaica Center for, we are pleased to announce the relaunch of JCAL's Membership program! Our year-long Membership provides free or deeply discounted entry to our events, classes, and workshops.
JCAL Members get access to beloved monthly programs like Thursday Night Jazz, and Riddim Section, plus free entry to our major festivals, and much more!
Members also get deep discounts on our classes and workshops.
With our Jazz season, Making Moves Dance Festival, and Fall semester of Arts Classes now open for registration, the time to become a member is now!
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. Campers will rotate between classes in piano, visual arts, and theater each day, working with our professional teaching artists to get creative in the arts!
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!
Making Moves Dance Festival
September 18 - September 20, 7 pm
153-10 Jamaica Avenue
Witness the power of movement and celebrate diverse cultures through dance! JCAL’s Making Moves Dance Festival is taking place at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue. The event is 7 pm each day.
Opening receptions will begin at 6:30 pm. Get ready to be captivated by this extraordinary three-day dance extravaganza, showcasing the talents of artists from various cultural backgrounds.
Become a JCAL Member today for free access to events like Making Moves Dance Festival.
JCAL Arts Classes
Fall Semester
Open House
September 12, 12 pm
Classes Begin September 26
JCAL Arts Classes are back for the Fall Semester! Join us on Saturday, September 12, from 12:00pm-3:00pm as we kick off our Arts Classes summer semester.
This event will feature open studios with JCAL's Teaching Artists, where attendees will get a feel for classes through demos, hands-on activities, and an opportunity to chat with teaching artists and staff.
We're offering the following classes this semester: Piano, Music Improvisation & Expression, Drawing and Painting, Figure Drawing, Cartooning, Comics, and Animation and Acting.
Become a JCAL Member today for discounted access to events like JCAL Arts Classes!
You Can Have That Chair This One Is Taken
Exhibition Opening Reception
September 18, 6pm
161-04 Jamaica Avenue
Don't miss the opening reception for this exhibition! You Can Have That Chair, This One is Taken is a group show curated and conceived by Jesus Caicedo.
Artist statement: This one's intimate. Emotional. It's a multi-sensory experience about space, identity, nourishment, and the art of becoming. Loosely inspired by Babette's Feast, it goes beyond the dinner table. It's about unlearning, growing backwards to grow better, and honoring the moment your in - the chair you've earned through healing, mistakes and, just showing up.
Each room will be alive filled with scent, sound, visuals, food. It's art you walk through, sit with the taste. I call it urban foraging a method of creating that pulls from your surrounding with care and intention. That philosophy is in my cooking, my life, and now this show. It's personal. Honest. Nothing wasted, nothing fake. And yeah - This chair? It's taken.
Season Premiere!
Thursday Night Jazz Presents:
Roy Hargrove Big Band
October 8, 8pm
153-10 Jamaica Avenue
Join us for a fantastic show to kick off the Thursday Night Jazz season, headlined by The Roy Hargrove Big Band!
As with everything Roy, his broad musical range is evident in his big band. Mr. Bruce Williams, lead alto and big band member from 1997 until Mr. Hargrove’s death in 2018, leads the band on stage.
The repertoire currently consists of arrangements Roy himself played with the band, which include audience favorites like Roy Allan, Public eye and September in the rain, other staples of the show like Conservation (B. Watson) and Requiem (F. Lacy), as well as well known standards and some of his favorite compositions by his mentors John Hicks and Larry Willis.
Become a JCAL Member today for free access to events like Thursday Night Jazz.
Photos of the Week: An Action-Packed Weekend at JCAL!
Last weekend, we hosted our annual Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival, plus a Conceptual Arts Panel, and our JCAL Arts Classes. Check out a few moments below!
