Community art stolen from Flushing Town Hall exhibition, venue says

The community exhibition “Call and Response: Grief, Resiliency and Hope” before thieves stole dozens of pieces of art. Photo courtesy of Flushing Town Hall

By David Brand

Thieves have stolen dozens of pieces of art from a Flushing exhibition that featured work by New Yorkers coping with COVID, institutional racism and other challenges, the organization behind the initiative says.

Flushing Town Hall, a Northern Boulevard arts venue, launched the outdoor project “Call and Response: Grief, Resiliency and Hope” earlier this year to help local residents channel their anxieties related to the pandemic, police violence and racism.

But on Monday morning, the artwork — including pieces that uplifted the Black Lives Matter movement — was missing from the fence along the sidewalk, said Flushing Town Hall Executive and Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek.

“We are incredibly saddened by the removal of these pieces of art,” Kodadek said. “These were created by the community and are for the community, to give people a canvas to channel their feelings of pain, of hope, and of trauma about all that we are going through this year.”

By Monday morning, all of the artwork was missing except for three vinyl signs, Flushing Town Hall said. Photo via Flushing Town Hall

Kodadek said Flushing Town Hall has contacted the local 109th Precinct to report the missing artwork. A community affairs officer told the Eagle they were looking into the theft allegations.

In response to the theft, the organization is stepping up its community-driven efforts.

Flushing Town Hall invites New Yorkers to restore the exhibition by creating even more art to display along Northern Boulevard, Kodadek said.

“We encourage people from Flushing, from Queens, and from New York City and beyond to contribute new pieces to make up for this loss,” she said. “We, like New York, are resilient and the need for shared expressions of grief, resiliency and hope are more important than ever.”