COVID-19 memorial exhibit to open in Elmhurst

A new exhibit honoring those who died of COVID-19 is now open at Elmhurst Library. Photo via QPL

By Rachel Vick

A new exhibit commemorating the lives lost to COVID-19 is open at the Elmhurst Queens Public Library branch.

Organized by the Queens Memory Project to mark the two year anniversary of the pandemic, “Faces of COVID Victims” features nearly 300 portraits drawn by 17-year-old artist Hannah Ernst.

“What began as one young artist’s endeavor to capture the essence of her grandfather inside a framed portrait sparked a viral movement that first traveled online and now offline in public spaces inaccessible during the pandemic,” said Queens Memory Curator J. Faye Yuan. “Now hung across a library’s reading room, this community memorial is a testament to the healing powers of public art – art that empowers us to witness grief as an artifact of love. Together.”

Ernst began the project after her grandfather, Calvin “Cal” Schoenfeld, died in May 2020. Since then, she has crafted thousands of portraits with help from the surviving loved ones to include details unique to the family member.

“We have experienced time passing in new ways during the pandemic,” said Natalie Milbrodt, founding director of the Queens Memory Project.

The exhibit, Milbrodt added, “is an opportunity to hold both space and time to acknowledge all we have lived through, and those we have lost.”

The exhibit will be on view through the end of March.