As artists continue their fight to stay in Long Island City, as rents and new developments continue to go up, the community will again celebrate the group that put the neighborhood on the map.
The seventh annual LIC Arts Open, which started Wednesday and runs to Sunday, offers art lovers an eclectic choice of mediums to enjoy during the five-day festival.
“I always have this sort of feeling that I’ve seen everything,” said artist Kenny Greenberg, who is participating in the open. “But I’m always amazed to see either a very new idea, or even an old idea like an incredibly executed painting. That alone is a draw.”
Artists and studios are opening their doors to the public for free throughout the festival, in different parts of the community, offering them a unique chance to see the works up close with their creators, who might be working on a different piece as visitors drop by. A number of special events will also take place throughout the five days.
“It’s the anti-Soho, anti-Chelsea group arts show,” said artist and airbrush painter Jason Artigas. “It caters more to the people than a type of people, where you can just relax.”
Greenberg, who draws his inspiration from the VHS covers of 1980s B-movies, said the Manhattan art events often attract “avant garde yuppies,” something you won’t see in western Queens.
“You see pretty much the last vestiges of the melting pot of New York at the LIC Arts Open,” he said.
But it’s something that’s not seen quite as widely as it was a few years ago — possibly due to the artists themselves.
“The arts make a place seem desirable, which then becomes desirable to people in real estate,” said photographer and longtime LIC resident Ray Normandeau, who is displaying his and his wife’s photos on PhotosNYC.com. “That’s a big problem around here.”
The decreasing affordability of LIC, as more developments are built in the area, has been a topic of discussion at most meetings in the neighborhood, including at a mayoral town hall earlier this month.
“It’s certainly an ongoing dialogue,” said Greenberg, a member of Community Board 1. “There’s an understanding that there’s something very special about this environment.”
But while the artists are able to stay in the area, events like the LIC Arts Open offer them the opportunity to gain more exposure.
“The LIC Arts Open has always been more of a community thing than anything else,” Artigas said.
Echoing Artigas’ point, Greenberg cheered the ability to interact with artists and get inside their head.
“It tends to be more relaxed,” he said. “That part I think is amazing. It’s a well-knit community here.”
Normandeau pointed out art admirers will also have the ability to purchase art at the festival for “an affordable price.”
LIC Arts Open
When: Through Sun., May 21 various times
Where: Various locations
Entry: Free. (718) 392-0722 licartsopen.org
