Queens International 4
January 24 – April 26, 2009In 2000, the US census revealed the borough of Queens to be the most diverse county in the nation. Two years later, the Queens Museum of Art inaugurated Queens International, a biennial exhibition of artists from around the world who live and/or work in Queens. Celebrating the most recent artistic achievements of Queens with 42 artists, collaborations and collectives from 18 countries working in a broad range of traditional and unorthodox media, the exhibition examines the boundaries of culture, tradition, heritage and nationality.
Like its predecessors, Queens International 4 addresses the relationship between “internationalism” and “multiculturalism” from a local standpoint. Culture is the logic by which we give order to the world. No one stands outside of it. In Queens, one comes to recognize that nations are not walled fortresses but rather permeable containers for the fluid shifts of culture. Here, multiculturalism does not imply a static representation of international identities but rather an ever-changing shift amongst multiple cultures that blurs ethnic, racial, gendered and ideological boundaries. Circumventing conventional art discourse to engage with their immediate surroundings, the artists of Queens ignite a critical dialogue through lived experience, often in the form of collaborative, site-specific and public practices.
Opening Reception TONIGHT: January 24, 6pm-12am
Join us for the opening reception of Queens I nternational 4, the 4th edition of QMA’s biennial. The opening will feature a gallery walk-through and screenings of “A Frame Apart: Short Films on Queens.” Music by Flushing’s own The Unstoppable Death Machines (distorto-dance-psych-rock with a punk flair), DJ Witnes (with a special old skool Queens hip hop set), and DJ JuanMapu (representing Queens’ Latin flavor). Performances by QI4 artists Chin Chih Yang, Ryan Humphrey accompanied by BMX pros including trick ramp legend Dizz Hicks, and Carol Periera with Jonas Olson. Food served up by Vendy award-winning street food vendors.
The piece featured above is by my friend Derick Melander: “Flesh of my Flesh” (2008), second-hand clothing, wood & steel, 144 x 24 x 24 in.
One of Derick’s two pieces in the show is a customized Goodwill clothing bin; feel free to bring stuff to donate! For NY1 coverage (including a brief interview with Derick), click here.
Directions: E or F to Roosevelt Ave/74th St (express in Queens), switch to 7 to Shea Stadium; Shuttle buss from there, or a 15 minute walk through the park to The Unisphere.
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