Queens Rising Celebration Returns For Its Third Year 

Featuring New Initiative to Spotlight Queens Performing Artists

Borough’s Multidisciplinary Arts Festival Celebrating Cultural And Creative Diversity Kicks Off Saturday, June 1st At Flushing Town Hall 

Title Sponsor Northwell Health, Major Sponsors Resorts World NYC, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts

May 2, 2024 (Queens, NY) – Today, Queens Rising unveiled its third annual month-long arts celebration at the Queens Museum. After last year’s success of promoting over 300 partner events in collaboration with 100+ organizations, June's festivities will spotlight Queens' vibrant culture and creative diversity. This year's new initiative "Queens Scene" is a series of performances at four different partner venues highlighting Queens-based artists. 

From enthralling performances to captivating exhibitions, Queens Risingcollaborates with numerous arts organizations, versatile venues, and galleries across the borough to present a rich tapestry of cultural events. The need for an initiative like this was conceived during an Arts Advisory Board Meeting of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, and further developed by a larger Planning Committee who met fortnightly throughout the pandemic to determine how Queens Rising would best enhance the cultural landscape of Queens and amplify the rich tapestry of Queens arts organizations and artists. 

QUEENS RISING creates a platform to share with Queens audiences and those throughout the city the literally hundreds and hundreds of cultural programs that abound in the borough. By focusing marketing and promotional resources on the month of June, the goal is to make people aware of how robust a roster of cultural programs exist in Queens and hopefully, introduce audiences to new venues and artists through a collective effort.

“Culture is King in Queens! I’m so glad Queens Rising is returning for its third season to The World’s Borough,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “This summer promises to be a memorable one, with their new initiative and new activities to enjoy. I encourage everyone to check out Queens Rising’s website and get out there for the arts!”

“We have banded together to create a month-long celebration of each other's work,” stated Jeff Rosenstock (Assistant Vice President for Governmental Relations & External Affairs at Queens College, and member of the Queens Rising Planning Committee). “We want audiences to open the QUEENS RISING website and discover how much there is to see in Queens; perhaps learning about cultural organizations and neighborhoods they have yet to explore.”

“We at Northwell Health are honored to reprise our role as the lead sponsor of Queens Rising for the 3rd straight year, which celebrates the culture and diversity of our arts community in the borough,” said Lorraine Chambers Lewis, PA-C, executive director of Long Island Jewish Forest Hills. “As executive director of LIJ Forest Hills, I’m proud to say that we are one of Northwell’s most diverse hospitals. A majority of our staff, and that includes doctors and nurses, live right here in Queens, so this month-long celebration highlights the rich tapestry of who we are.”

From left, John Wang, Queens Night Market Founder; Northwell Health Representative; Michelle Stoddart, Vice President of Community Development at Resorts World; Lorraine Chambers Lewis, Director of LIJ/Forest Hills-Northwell Health; Jeffrey Rosenstock, AVP for Governmental Relations & External Affairs at Queens College.

Queens Scene: Performance Series

This year Queens Rising launches "Queens Scene" a performing arts series created to aim the spotlight on the extraordinary talent living and working in our borough. Performing artists were invited to submit applications to perform at four Queens venues: Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, the Queens Botanical Garden and Terraza 7. Each venue will choose from the applicant pool and provide artist fees, marketing and production resources. 

"Over the past two years we hosted a number of town halls and less formal gatherings. Our local visual and performing artists spoke loud and clear as to how Queens Rising could support their work by providing showcases across the borough. We are excited to support this initiative and promote our local talent.” -Mike Faba, Queens Rising Project Coordinator. 

The Queens Rising Performance Series include:

Queens Scene Performance 1: Saturday, June 1st at Flushing Town Hall, time TBD.

Queens Scene Performance 2: Friday, June 14th at 7pm, Saturday, June 15th at 6pm, and Sunday, June 16th (Father's Day) at 4pm, at Terraza 7.

Queens Scene Performance 3: Wednesday, June 19th (Juneteenth), at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, with a reception at 7:30pm, showtime at 8pm, and the event 

concluding at 10pm. 

Queens Scene Performance 4: Saturday, June 29th, at Queens Botanical Garden, from 1:30pm to 4pm.

Additional curated events include:

Visual Art Exhibition Opening “Say It Loud: Unsung Heroes”: Thursday, June 6th at Culturelab LIC, from 6pm to 9pm.

Queens Night Market: Queens Rising returns to the Queens Night Market on Saturday, June 8th for a third year where artists are able to engage the thousands of attendees who flock to the Night Market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Artists will perform from 4:00 pm - midnight.

Enriching the cultural experience, Queens Rising and Northwell Health will host Arts & Healing Panels, a key collaboration emphasizing the importance of the arts on healing.

Michelle Stoddart, Sr. VP Community Development at Resorts World New York City stated “Resorts World is honored to participate as a sponsor and support the borough's cultural community whose programs contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of our borough.”

Support for Queens Rising is provided by Title Sponsor, Northwell Health, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Kupferberg Family Foundation, Queens Economic Development Corporation, and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.

Current collaborators include:

A Better Jamaica, AIMI Cultural Center, Alley Pond Environmental Center, Allure Art Studio, American Folk Art Museum, APAC, Art House Astoria, Art Retail Therapy, Arriba Arriba, Ashreynu, Astoria Film Festival, Astoria Park Alliance, Bayside Historical Society, Bayside Village BID, Bliss on Bliss Art Projects Bowne House Historical Society, Braata Productions, The Brick Wall Gallery at Bar Dalia, Center for the Women of New York, The Chocolate Factory, The Church-in-the-Gardens, Culture Lab LIC Dance Astoria, Dance Entropy/Green Space, Dancing Classrooms, Diverse Street Initiative Empanadas Cafe, Espresso 77, FitzgeraldArt, Flushing BID, Flushing Town Hall, Forest Hills Choir, Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Park Trust, Friends of Maple Grove at The Center at Maple Grove, Friends of the Crocheron & John Golden Park, Glow Community Center, The Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Greater Astoria Historical Society, Indo-American Arts and Cultural Forum, Jackson Heights Beautification GroupJamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Juneteenth in Queens, King Manor Museum, Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, Inc., Kupferberg Center for the Arts, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Lavender Laughs NYC, Lewis Latimer House Museum, Long Island City Partnership, Louis Armstrong House Museum, Make Music New York, Maspeth Squash, MoMA PS1, Museum of the Moving Image, Musica Reginae Productions, New York Hall of Science, NYC Department of Transportation, Oratorio Society of Queens, Inc., The Poppenhusen Institute, QED, The Queens Borough President’s Office, Queens Botanical Garden, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens Council on the Arts, Queensboro Dance Festival, Queens Economic Development Corporation, Queens Historical Society, Queens Museum, Queens Night Market, Queens Public Library, Queens Theatre, Queens Together, Queens Tourism Council, Queens Underground International Black and Brown Film Festival and The Artist Market NYC Live, Queens World Film Festival, Queens Zoo, Rincon Criollo, Riders Alliance, RISE Rockaway, School of Rock Queens, Socrates Sculpture Park, Son Jarocho NY, South East Queens Artist Alliance, South Queens Women’s March, Sovereign Markets, Stone Circle Theatre, Studio 41, Sunnyside Shines, Thalia Spanish Theatre, Inc., The Garage Art Center, Inc., Theatre Beyond Broadway, Underground Spade, Urban Vegan Roots

For more information on Queens Rising and a full schedule of events, please visit queensrising.nyc

ABOUT QUEENS RISING

Queens Rising stands as an annual beacon of cultural celebration, dedicated to illuminating the vibrant tapestry of Queens, New York. Since its inception in 2022, this event has served as a catalyst for unity, bringing together artists, performers, and organizations to showcase the borough's rich artistic heritage. It acts as a catalyst for collaboration, connecting artists, venues, and businesses to maximize opportunities for arts and culture to flourish in Queens. Through these connections, pathways for creativity and innovation thrive. At Queens Rising, the belief in the transformative power of art and culture to inspire, connect, and uplift communities is steadfast. Individuals are invited to join in celebrating the diverse cultural landscape of Queens and shaping a brighter future through creativity and collaboration.

ABOUT NORTHWELL HEALTH

Northwell Health is New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 85,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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For more information on Queens Rising, please contact Alena Joyiens or Rebecca Shapiro at Shore Fire Media , queensrisingpr@shorefire.com