Final Week to See: Call and Response: Grief, Resiliency and Hope

This is the final week to see Flushing Town Hall’s outdoor community art exhibition, Call and Response: Grief, Resiliency and Hope, which gives people an opportunity to express their feelings about this moment in our nation’s history and hopes for the future. The last day of the exhibition is Friday, April 2.

Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Flushing Town Hall distributed 500 art kits to students and community residents to encourage participation in the historic institution’s outdoor exhibition. More than 200 pieces were submitted—from amateur and professional local artists and others as far away as the United Kingdom—until this past Friday, when the submission period ended.

“We have been incredibly moved by the outpouring of artwork from students and the community, artwork that displays hope and promise as we begin to envision an end to the pandemic,” said Flushing Town Hall Director of Education and Public Programs Gabrielle M. Hamilton. “This season, we invited participants to look to a more hopeful future; even as we still grieve for those we lost. With determination, and in honor of those we lost, we look to rebuild a more resilient, inspired, and courageous community. We invited participants of all ages and abilities to create art that shows their artistic vision of a better tomorrow.”

Flushing Town Hall provided the art kits to schools in Queens - including P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights and P.S. 22 in Flushing - and La Jornada, the Queens-based food pantry that supports hunger insecure individuals and families.

Flushing Town Hall first launched Call and Response: Grief, Resiliency and Hope last summer, allowing people to display their art on the institution’s fence on Northern Boulevard. On February 1, 2021, the venue re-opened the exhibition and began soliciting new artwork in time for the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Ox, and its associated characteristics of diligence, strength and determination are skills that help build resiliency, allowing us to recover quickly from difficulties.

Amateur and professional artists were invited to explore these concepts artistically in the exhibition, and encouraged to consider creating art that answers questions such as: As I face the new year, what skills do I want to cultivate in myself to create a resilient community? What inspires me and others to be hopeful? How can I honor the memory of someone I lost last year by living a courageous life? How can I artistically connect with my diverse community and bring people together?

Flushing Town Hall continues to showcase individual pieces of the artwork on Flushing Town Hall’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter platforms, and on Flushing Town Hall’s Cultural Crossroads blog.

Flushing Town Hall’s FTH At Home! virtual programming is presented for free to the general public but donations in any amount are appreciated to support the artists and the nonprofit cultural organization as they continue to provide programming and entertainment across New York and the world.