JCAL ART FAIR

Now Available to View & Purchase!

Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning's affordable Art Fair is now open to view and to purchase works from some of the community's finest artists. JCAL’s Art Fair offers over two dozen works for sale from 16 community based artists. Shop via the link below to secure original art or prints for your space today!

View JCAL Art Fair

The First Playwrights have been announced!

Meet the Playwright : February 22nd, 7pm

JCAL Youtube

Meet the Playwright explores new work by emerging and established writers for the stage. In a 60-minute webinar, a noted play publisher will introduce two writers. A filmed scene from each of their play will be streamed, followed by a curated post-show audience Q&A.

The first play, I Shakuntala, written and directed by Golam Sarwar Harun and Gargi Mukherjee, explores the desertion and abandonment of South Asian women by their husbands in a foreign land—and in their home country, too, reflecting the challenges faced by the global migration of workers from South Asia to the U.S. and the west.

RSVP HERE

This Week: Make Your Own Sketchbook

February 6th, 4:00pm Youtube

Whether or not you’re a practicing artist, keeping a sketchbook can be a good way to encourage your creative thinking. During this one hour virtual workshop, learn how to make your own sketchbook, and try a few exercises to spark ideas and develop drawing and observational skills. Activity kits (helpful but not required) will be available at JCAL starting Feb. 4 as part of the exhibition, Process->Project: What Comes Out of Our Sketchbooks.

Instructor Rejin Leys is an artist, curator, and freelance art educator. She is a founding member of the Southeast Queens Artist Alliance and co-curated Process->Project.. Learn more about Rejin at rejinleys.com

RSVP HERE

Aaiye (Welcome)

A performance by Rovaco Dance Company

February 13th, 11am

JCAL & Rovaco Dance Company are ecstatic to announce the virtual premiere of Aaiye (Welcome). Commissioned by JCAL’s Making Moves Dance Festival 2020, the work is choreographed by Rohan Bhargava in collaboration with dancers Siddharth Dutta and Devika Chandnani, with videography and editing by Melissa Wu and musical scoring by Saúl Guanipa.

Aaiye (Welcome) satirizes contemporary South Asian hospitality by fusing dance with elements of Nukkad Natak, a style of Indian street theater. Narrated in Hinglish, an iconic blend of slang Hindi and British English, this work flavorfully blends contemporary movement, spoken text and immersive theater to facilitate authentic cultural exchange. The virtual premiere will feature a Q&A with the artists at the end of the performance!

RSVP HERE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Family Matinee Series featuring

Boogie Chillun'

February 8th - February 14th

First up in JCAL's Family Matinee/School Assembly series is Boogie Chillun’, a lively multicultural band that takes students and faculty on a musical journey through America’s rich music history. Boogie Chillun’ interacts with the audience as they perform hymns and spirituals, songs of freedom, country, blues, jazz, rock, soul and hip-hop.

RSVP HERE

2nd Thursday Night Jazz: Samora Pinderhughes

February 11th, 7pm

JCAL Youtube

Samora Pinderhughes became serious about making music his life after living in Cuba studying spiritual musical traditions. He moved to NYC to study at Juilliard under master teachers Kenny Barron and Kendall Briggs; It was during this time that he also met his artistic mentor, MacArthur-winning playwright Anna Deavere Smith. This started him down the path of writing lyrics and combining film/theatre with his music in radical new ways.

RSVP HERE

JCAL Talks

February 16th, 7pm

Youtube + Facebook

JCAL Talks is a speaker series spotlighting the endlessly diverse spectrum of thought leaders who live in, represent and originate from Queens. The inaugural guest will be Melva M. Miller, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), a native of Southeast Queens and long a borough champion.

RSVP HERE

FANIKE! African Dance Troupe

Black History Month 2021 Virtual Journey

Feb 27th - 7:00 PM

FANIKE! African Dance Troupe explores the survival of African and African Diasporic culture and arts through movement and percussion. They encourage the exchange of wisdom and knowledge within our community, especially between elders and their juniors. FANIKE! hails from Southeast Queens; has participated in the Queensboro Dance Festival; and performs annually for BAM Dance Africa's Salute to the Ancestors and across the tristate area.

RSVP HERE

Riddim Section Presents:

Lea Anderson - February 24th, 7pm

JCAL Youtube

JCAL's new monthly live-streamed concert, "Riddim Section," draws life directly from the cultures found across Queens.

The first performer will be soul singer Lea Anderson. Through her own rhythm and blues, Anderson creates an intimate connection between herself and anyone who has heard her fluid soprano sound.

RSVP HERE

10 Minute Film Festival

April 16th - April 17th 7:30 pm

JCAL Youtube

The dates are set and RSVPs are officially open for JCAL's 10-Minute Film Festival. A three-member jury will select films to be streamed on JCAL's YouTube channel, with over $1,000 in prizes awarded. RSVP for the free event below or submit your film here

RSVP HERE

Sponsored By:

Flushing Bank branch location at 89-12 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica, NY now open, ready to serve your banking needs.