Do you wish you can take a sponge and erase layers of smog to unveil sunny skies? Do you pass that cement-and-asphalt sprawl en route to work, and envision its potential as a landscaped area for trees and recreation?
Well, your wishes may be fulfilled, as our younger generations will have some say to all generations about our quality of life and environmental preservation at large.
Between now and April 20, students aged five to 18 from schools across Queens can enroll in “Green Queens,” a bold contest of Queens Paideia School for the LIC Arts Open 2012 in Long Island City.
Students can participate by illustrating a five-by-seven postcard in any format on what being green in Queens symbolizes to them.
Children and teens can be the creative shapers of a greener and more sustainable New York City. The LIC Arts Open offers 200-plus open studios with music, painting, sculpture, dance, and theater events.
The curator of Green Queens is Bertille de Baudiniere, a painter and instructor of art and art history at Queens Paideia School. She studied in Japan, and completed a series of paintings called Green Earth.
“Green Queens’ theme resulted from my awareness of the plight of Japan on the first anniversary of the earthquake and Fukushima disaster,” de Baudiniere told the Forest Hills Times. “The LIC Arts Open and Green Queens is an opportunity to give the children their turn to speak, and the postcard is a symbol of communication; a small but powerful message to the world.”
Queens Paideia School was founded in 2009 by Forest Hills residents Dr. Francis Mechner, director, and his wife, Assistant Director Karyn Slutsky. The kindergarten through eighth-grade independent school offers individualized education within a mixed-age setting.
“We wanted something that simply didn’t exist anywhere in Queens, which is true differentiation,” explained Slutsky. “Children could flourish academically, socially, and emotionally.”
Considering the school’s hands-on approach, Slutsky said, “we see students showing exceptional kindness to people regardless of age and gender, and making cross-discipline connections, even at age six.”
In 2011, Queens Paideia School participated in the first annual LIC Arts Open, which 500 people attended and viewed more than 1,000 children’s postcards.
Children designed an interpretation of the Queensboro Bridge, which then underwent a controversial name-change to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Postcards were displayed as a huge postcard mosaic.
At this year’s event, Slutsky expects more than 1,000 visitors.
“We have more schools enrolling at an earlier time, such as Forest Hills’ P.S. 144,” says Slutsky. “Last year, P.S. 101 had a large colorful presence, and could participate again, as well as the Kew-Forest School. When students submit their postcard, their parents want to celebrate the special moment of seeing their child’s work on display.
“We have distributed over 1,600 postcards these last few days, and many schools responded positively,” added de Baudiniere. “My students have already designed beautiful postcards with wonderful ideas. Last year’s theme was the bridge as a symbol of communication and peace, but this year’s theme is broader, so responses may be wide-ranging and surprising.”
Recent events could play a role in the 2012 postcard designs. A case in point is the September 2010 tornado that devastated Queens, but in April 2011, 900 multi-generational volunteers amazingly collaborated at “One Thing That’s Green,” to re-forest MacDonald Park, Yellowstone Park, apartment houses, and P.S. 303 in Forest Hills.
Another possible topic is the conceived “Queensway,” a linear park and trail atop the abandoned LIRR Rockaway Line, which would connect central and southern Queens.
Teachers build a foundation for their students, but the students also become teachers in some surprising ways. Student creativity rubs off on their peers, families, and city residents, encouraging them to be more caring and active citizens.
The postcard submission deadline is April 20th. Contest entries will be exhibited from May 12th to 20th at the LIC Art Center. Winners will be contacted on May 5th, and invited to an awards ceremony at a May 19th block party.
Mail entries to Bertille de Baudiniere, Green Queens, Queens Paideia School, 44-02 23rd Street, Studio 214, Long Island City, NY 11101. If your school is interested in participating, email [email protected]. For more information, visit Licartsopen.org.
