Tag: jamaica-center-for-arts-and-learning

JCAL to host film festival Apr. 26-27 highlighting works from BIPOC NYC-based creators

film festival

Mar. 26, 2024 By Athena Dawson The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) will host a free, two-day long film festival from Apr. 26-27 at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, located at 153-10 Jamaica Ave.  The “10 Minute Film Festival” will feature original short films made by black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) NYC-based creatives.  Day one of the festival will feature a screening of Hulu’s “Invisible Beauty,” an award winning documentary that follows the life and legacy of fashion icon Bethann Hardison. After the screening, audience members can participate in a Q&A session to discuss the…
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Queens African dance groups celebrate Black History Month with performances at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning

Kofago Image

Feb. 14, 2024 By Rachel Butler Two Queens based African dance groups are performing at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) on Feb 23. And Feb 24. in celebration of Black History Month. Kofago Dance Ensemble will perform West African dancing on Friday Feb 23., followed by FANIKE! African Dance Troupe on Feb. 24 at JCAL located at 161-04 on Jamaica Avenue. Kevin McEwen, founder and artistic director of Kofago Dance Ensemble learned his dancing techniques from his travels in Senegal, Mali and Guinea. He has also expanded and learnt Afro Cuban, Afro Jazz and Haitian Folkloric in…
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JCAL ‘Ancestral Nourishment’ exhibit pays tribute to human ancestry, lineage and roots

Ancestral Nourishment

Dec. 25, 2023 By Ethan Marshall The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning is running an exhibit through Jan. 6 called “Ancestral Nourishment,” themed around honoring human ancestry, lineage and roots. The exhibit is meant to put an emphasis on the sense of community, strength and resilience people have inherited from their ancestors. Ancestral Nourishment marks the latest exhibit in the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning’s three-year visual arts initiative “Visual Voices,” which spotlights emerging Black, Immigrant, Indigenous and People of Color (BIIPOC) curators. This exhibit is conceived and curated by Queens-based visual artist Seema Shakti Choudhary. Over 25…
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‘Free Your Mind’ at JCAL’s boundary-breaking art exhibition

Aug. 21, 2023 By Tammy Scileppi Art lovers have been enjoying a memorable exhibition – the first in the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning’s (JCAL) Visual Voices curatorial program – which showcases attention-grabbing works by 44 Queens-based creatives from different backgrounds. Experience “Free Your Mind” at the JCAL galleries until Sept. 1 and explore…
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Downtown Jamaica Jazz Festival returns with free programming at Rufus King Park

May. 1, 2023 By Carlotta Mohamed The Downtown Jamaica Jazz Festival, known for presenting legendary jazz artists and providing a platform to emerging musicians, is returning this year with free programming for the community at Rufus King Park.  The festival begins Friday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. with an opening reception and performances at the…
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Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning to host annual 10-Minute Film Festival

Mar. 28, 2023 By Carlotta Mohamed Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) will present its third annual 10-Minute Film Festival at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Through an open-call process and peer jury, emerging independent film directors will be showcased and several will receive cash awards following…
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