Los Galeristas were in the house for the opening night party Saturday night for Queens International: 2012 & Frank Larson 1950’s New York Street Stories.
Talk about the VIP treatment! David Strauss, Director of External Affairs greeted us at the door of the museum and immediately escorted us on a backstage tour, introduced us to Tom Finkelpearl, QMA’s Executive Director, and spoke with us about his role at the museum and the selection procession resulting in the 31 artists represented this year. I wonder, how many Galeristas will make the next the QMA Biannual in 2014?
Tom, of course was thrilled to hear that our very own Ayeisha Brown, hails from the borough of Queens, which got me to thinking about my favorite Queens-bred art and music world luminaries – like Art Spiegelman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Salt-N-Pepa, Waka Flocka Flame, Walt Whitman and of course, RUN-DMC and The Ramones.
We later met and spoke with Eugenie Tsai, Managing Curator, Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum, who agreed to talk to Taz Sunshine about her work there. Keep an eye out for that feature coming soon.
The Ghana Think Tank, and Tania Brugera’s Immigrant Movement International
Recent QMA projects, like The Ghana Think Tank, and Tania Brugera’s Immigrant Movement International contribute to an evolving dialog about what it means to be an urban cultural institution institution supporting public artists, and are helping to expand and redefine the very concept of community.
Below is a clip of our visit – it was a very special one!
Music Children by Robert Miles
We’d also like to thank Perana Reddy, Director of Public Events, who made sure that the Galeristas left loaded down with enough catalogs for the ones who stayed at home, who are now regretting not making it to this opening.
I wonder what’s in store for us the Queens Museum of Art?
One ove – Mista Oh!