The borough of Queens is known worldwide for its diversity, where people from hundreds of countries and cultures come to make a home in New York City. To go further back in history it is the traditional territory and homeland of Indigenous people including the Lenape, Rockaway, and Canarsie tribes. Later Dutch and Anglo colonists made it farmland. Throughout the 20th century Queens was a beacon to working class immigrant families, giving way to the changes of development and commerce we are seeing today.
This exhibit is connected to Queens through history, tradition, and intimate stories and experiences; three lens based artists – Anthoula Lelekidis, Salvador Espinoza, and Julie Thompson – explore themes of personal history of diaspora and memory, the impacts of development and gentrification, and the unique culture of local communities.
Western Queens has only recently become desirable as a residential, commercial, and tourism destination. This exhibit is to share a sense of fellowship with our long-time Astoria neighbors and our families who have been here before us, as much as a lesson to new visitors on the significance of personal histories that connect us to this borough we call home.
Artist Bios
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Salvador Espinoza
Salvador Espinoza is a photographer born and raised in New York City. Primarily a documentary photographer and photojournalist he specializes in focusing on social issues by shooting realistic slices of everyday life. His work has won awards from The Queens Council on the Arts as well as The New York City Council and has been published in The New York Times, BBC News, Rolling Stone and Mass Appeal.
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Julie Thompson
Julie Thompson is a photographer and production manager, currently based in New York City since 2008, with emphasis on documentary projects. She has a wide spectrum of professional experience of over ten years in the creative industry. As a photographer, her work can be found online, on Instagram, and in publications such as Columbia Magazine. She was raised in rural New England and is a transnational adoptee from South Korea. She earned a BFA in fashion design and a minor in photography in 2006 from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
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Anthoula Lelekidis
Anthoula Lelekidis is a Greek-American lens-based artist who utilizes photography, printmaking, and mixed media in her practice. Her work navigates themes of personal memory, loss, and migration. With a deep interest in the archive, she alters found family photos to interpret a deeper tie to her heritage and uncover ancestral roots within blank spaces of her recollection. This investigation and the need for an individualized story, act as a meditation between the realm of post-memory and realization. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Parsons School of Design and received the Community Fellowship from the International Center of Photography from 2018 to 2020. She was a resident at the Skopelos Foundation of the Arts in 2016 and earned a scholarship from the Students On Ice Organization to travel to photograph Antarctica in 2007. Lelekidis is currently the recipient of Manhattan Graphics Center’s printmaking scholarship and is a faculty member at the International Center of Photography. She is based in Queens, NY.
Organizations
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
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NYC Parks
NYC Parks is the steward of more than 30,000 acres of land — 14 percent of New York City — including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds, 1,800 basketball courts, 550 tennis courts, 65 public pools, 51 recreational facilities, 15 nature centers, 14 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. We care for 1,200 monuments and 23 historic house museums. We look after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City’s principal providers of recreational and athletic facilities and programs. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals.
To Queens, With Love
Featuring: Salvador Espinoza Julie Thompson Anthoula Lelekidis
Curated by: Julie Thompson
Locations
View Location Details Astoria Park19th Street and 24th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11105
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Explore other locations and exhibitions nearby
Location open 24 hours
Julie Thompson would like to thank the clergy, laity, and congregation members of the Cathedral of St. Markella for their gracious allowance to witness observance of this holiday. She humbly thanks all who have shared their practice of faith. Special thanks to Sister Irene, Spiros, George, Mixali, John, Angelo, Eleni, Maria, Mariana, Angela, and Eirene. Σας ευχαριστώ.
