Be an It-Girl, Art Walk on The Ave and Colli in Queens
“IT WALK is my way to highlight and glorify New York City artists, and to remind people they don’t have to go to Manhattan to see art — there are four other boroughs here, too,” says NYC IT GIRL Collective founder Jenelle Forrester, who launched the organization to connect local artists and the places they call home. From Aug. 8-17, the nonprofit NYC IT GIRL Collective hosts its first annual IT WALK public art experience in and around Jamaica Ave. between 146th St. and 171st St. The free, self-guided IT WALK exhibits work from painters, digital artists, collagists, and photographers across more than fifteen locations—Blarney Bar, where a discount on beers is promised, Creative Level Barbershops, About Time Soulfood, and Kingmanor Museums, are amongst them. “If you’ve ever been to Jamaica Avenue, you know it’s lit. There’s going to be so much happening,” Forrester commented to Cultbytes.
I spoke to Forrester about the show, which she modeled on neighborhood art walks in Chicago, where on the first Friday of each month, participating galleries and arts-themed businesses stay open late to boost foot traffic. “[We want] to bring attention to underfunded communities, and underfunded communities don’t have art galleries,” the New York City native says. “Showcasing art inside of small businesses brings attention to the artists, the small business owners, and the neighborhood as a whole.” Engaging the community further, she also organized a painting workshop on the street, and there are croc bracelet and collage making workshops for all ages coming up this weekend.
Brooklyn-based IT WALK featured artist CJ Priester wrote to Cultbytes that they applaud Forrester’s initiative. “In the five boroughs, we don’t have anything like this art walk,” Priester says. “New York City is so big, and it’s made of a bunch of tiny communities where everyone is doing their own thing. Sometimes we don’t think that we should bring it all together.” But Forrester is: “IT WALK isn’t just about attracting people to Jamaica Avenue. It’s about getting them to spend money there, and giving them reasons to return when the art walk is over,” she says. “Everyone who attends is going to have a true, authentic New York experience.”
While the IT WALK isn’t Queens’ only art walk, its dedication to celebrating the history and culture of Jamaica Ave. makes it unique. Eesha Suntai, a painter based in Queens, from Rockaway, is one of several IT WALK participants who expressed hope that the event can help keep the neighborhood from losing its local flavor in the face of development projects that threaten the same small businesses the art walk highlights. “I remember getting on the bus and heading to Jamaica Avenue to get a bacon, egg, and cheese at a bodega or running down to the Colosseum [Mall] to grab new pants for the club I’m going to on Saturday. Those places are gone,” Suntai muses. “We have to hold on to our community as best we can, and the IT WALK allows people to walk those streets to see what Jamaica Avenue is, what it was, and what it could continue to be.”
The IT WALK features New York City-based artists, primarily from Queens. Forrester curated the lineup by visiting town halls, reaching out to artist studios such as the Creative Arts Program at The Fortune Society, a nonprofit smoothing re-entry from incarceration and supporting those with justice system involvement and DM-ing artists on Instagram. Most of the artists featured are black and brown.
Queens-based Meagan Bianca’s IT WALK standout Hermana, a self-portrait layered with paper, ink, and vinyl stickers, takes inspiration from a photo snapped by the artist’s best friend. Hermana (sister in Spanish) and her work pay homage to Jamaica’s large Afro-Caribbean population: Bianca’s uplifting work uses warm tones emblematic of her Caribbean roots to welcome others from the region upon their arrival in New York City. “In Puerto Rico, people will paint houses bright green or pink,” Bianca says. “I hope that when [people of Caribbean descent] see my art, they feel the connection and they feel recognized.” She is an artist with the Creative Arts Program at The Fortune Society, recently showed with MoMAPS1 and has an upcoming show at Henry Street Settlement.
Photographer Ryin Baskin’s An Ode to the Block focuses on the Jamaica Avenue she knows. A grainy, bass-heavy video accompanying the collection features young people donning Yankees snapbacks, doorknocker bamboo earrings, and bomber sports coats. “An Ode to the Block is dedicated to the fashion that we used to find on Jamaica Avenue,” Baskin says. “My friends would walk single file down the Colli [Colosseum Mall] block after school to get something to eat, to go school shopping for clothing and supplies, and those places are essentially gone. My pieces are a commemoration of what was there, what is there, and what will be there.” IT WALK offers a generous look into the neighborhood’s vibrant community of arts and life. Take the bait.
The IT WALK is free and open through August 17. A digital map is available via NYC IT GIRL’s website and participating venues.
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