Meet Four Queens Artists Who Highlight Important Social Issues
/By Jonathan Sperling
Four Queens artists will soon tackle various social issues — from racial disparities in the criminal justice system to the new immigrant experience — as part of the Queens Council on the Arts’ Artist Commissioning Program.
The QCA awarded artists Kerri Edge, Yogi (Y?) Guadin, Claire Marie Lim and Guanglei Hui $10,000 each toward the creation and production of their original projects, along with a year-long commitment of guidance and support from a group of dedicated QCA art producers. Two panels of art producers selected the artists to receive the awards as part of the program, which is now in its second year.
Kerri Edge - “REFORM”
Edge, an “artivist,” utilizes tap dancing to shed light on the racial disparities in the American criminal justice system, while also encouraging advocates to call for legislation.
Kerri Edge. Photos courtesy of the Queens Council on the Arts.
Yogi (Y?) Guadin - “Shooter”
Educator, artist and audio engineer/producer Guadin presents an experimental theatre project that invites participants to confront the power dynamics between victim and perpetrator. Participants role-play as the "shooter" or the "shot" during an incident of gun violence. Guadin spells his name with the characters (Y?).
Yogi (Y?) Guadin.
Claire Marie Lim - “Colors of Us”
Lim uses her interdisciplinary art skills to produce a music project featuring musical material created in collaboration with female-identifying youths of Asian descent residing or having roots in Queens.
Claire Marie Lim.
Guanglei Hui - “The Silent Voices”
A dancer, Hui’s choreography will use the metaphor of the silent scream to draw attention to the experience of new immigrants who face seemingly insurmountable barriers to entry into mainstream American life.
Guanglei Hui.
