Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL)

Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) is a multi-disciplinary art center that celebrates creative expression by promoting the works of visual and performing artists, and provides accessible arts education programs that encourage participation in order to contribute to the diverse communities of Queens and surrounding New York counties.

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ATTN ARTISTS!! Join us for our 2 day Professional Development & Fundraising workshop on April 28th & May 5th, where we will help artists under the application process for our annual Making Moves Dance Festival (held on Sept.22 & 23rd) in a congenial joyful atmosphere. Guest panelists from the dance, administration and foundation sectors will also be in attendance. Though the tickets to these workshops are free, registration is required, as space is limited. For more info on these workshops, please visit our Facebook page (@JamaicaCenterforArtsLearning) or visit our website https://www.jcal.org/artists-opportunities. #JoinJCAL #newyork #Art #Artist #JamaicaCenter

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Our Thursday Night Jazz event tonight will feature: Adam O’Farrill, a Brooklyn native, who just so happens to be the grandson of the legendary Grammy award winning Afro-Cuban composer/arranger Chico O’Farrill! The doors open at 8pm! The tickets are free; monetary donations are welcomed.

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Our first Friday event featuring Basilio George’s Quartet starts tonight! Basilio Georges, of Flamenco Latino, a company composed of dancers and singers that weaves together flamenco guajiras and rumba styles with jazz harmonic melodies will be taking the stage momentarily. For those who are not familiar with Georges, he is a composer, salsa musical director, and Flamenco guitarist with over 34 years of experience under his belt. He has composed over 30 pieces for Flamenco Latino within the past 2 decades, 10 pieces for Andrea Del Conte Danza Espan and 5 for Carlota Santana Spanish Dance Company. He has lended his guitar skills to artists like Concha Vargas in the U.S, Ciro, Faico, Manolete in various dance studios and many Flamenco singers including Juanele de jerez and Antonio Benamargo in Madrid. He has recorded songs with singer Luis Vargas, Carlotta Santana and with singer/dancer La Conja. For those looking to sharpen their vocal or guitar skills can refer to Flamenco Latino's official website (http://www.flamencolatino.com/artists/basiliogeorges.shtml), for that is where you can learn about the private or group lessons that Georges offers. #JoinJCAL #arts #events #Queens #QueensCenter

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Our First Friday event is back on 4/6. This month, we will bring to you the Ida Y Vuelta (Round Trip) by our talented artist Basilio Georges. Come in at 7:30pm and treat yourself to some light refreshments with the viewing of some spectacular #flamenco dancing. Admission is free! Visit our website more info on this event & the wide array of events we have lined up for you all this season. #JoinJCAL #entertainment

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Come join us on March 16 for a fun filled night of intricate art, activism and feminism as we celebrate International Women’s Month with Jamaica-based writer, poet, and literary curator Sherese Francis and Oxana Chi & Layla Zami, an artist couple from Berlin & Paris. Admission is free; doors open at 7:30pm!

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Join us tomorrow night for our final Black History Month event featuring the United African Dance Troupe at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, whose dance will honor the ancestors of African Diaspora through their signature libation, drumming and dance performance. Admission ranges from $15-$25. You don’t want to miss this!

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 #JoinJCAL on 2/10 at 2 pm for the Children’s Theater Company’s production of Henry Box Brown, a play that tells the true story of an 1850’s Virginia Slave who shipped himself to freedom in a box! 

$10/General Admission; $5/Children at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center 153-10 Jamaica Ave.

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Our Black History Month celebration continues on 2/7 at 7:30 pm with a film screening of Finding Samuel Lowe,a movie that peaks into the lives of 3 Harlem natives that goes on an emotional journey searching for clues about their heritage & their long-lost grandfather,Samuel Lowe. #JoinJCAL

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JCAL presents another installation of our #ThursdayNightJazz series featuring EARPRINT, a group of 4 creative musicians whose musical roots began at Boston’s Illustrous New England Controversy. Tree Palmedo-trumpet, Kevin Sun-saxophone, clarinet, Simon Wilson, bass, For herskovits-drums aim to turn a head or two with their aggressively melodic, shamelessly youthful approach. See you all at JCAL on Feb. 8th at 8pm! The Admission fee is  $10!

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JCAL Presents  cabaret artist Jackie Schiffer as our next artist for our #FirstFridaySeries. This Chicago native developed a love for the stage early-on in her life. She is a versatile actor, singer, and arts educator, who has appeared on many of New York’s leading cabaret and Off-Broadway plays. As an interpreter of the Great American Songbook, Jackie strives to reawaken wonder and cultivate a sense of pride in American musical traditions. The concert shares music in collaborative dialogue with the audience, memorable stories, and the entertainment and culture of Golden Era Hollywood to our current pop culture. She will perform the musics of Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Maury Yeston and Frank Loesser.

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In partnership with Exploring the Metropolis (EtM), JCAL presents Hilary Brown + Lamy Istrefi Jr’s "New York Sketches,” tomorrow night at 7:30. Admission is free! 

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We Remember the life of Martin Luther King Jr. 

Yesterday we commemorated the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr.who was the pivotal force behind the Civil Rights Movements in the 1950′s and ‘60′s, that eventually led to his death in 1968. Out of the dozens of speeches he delivered, the most iconic one was the “I have a Dream,” where in it he expressed the need for change in America, the need for equality and a more centralized and Democratic country in 1963.

 “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves [Audience:] (Yeah) who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.”

“But one hundred years later (All right), the Negro still is not free. (My Lord, Yeah) One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. (Hmm) One hundred years later (All right), the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later (My Lord) [applause], the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. (Yes, yes) And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. The Emancipation Proclamation, was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, that granted slaves in the Confederate States their freedom, under the contingencies that the States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863 and that the Union win the Civil War.”

Slavery should’ve been abolished then, but under the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves living in states that were loyal to Union like Missouri, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky were not protected under this new order.

Despite Lincoln having had declared slaves their freedom, it was later brought to that light, that he did not think that African Americans should have the same rights as Whites, even if they were all made equally.

“I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races,” he began, going on to say that he opposed blacks having the right to vote, to serve on juries, to hold office and to intermarry with whites.”

He believed that African Americans blacks had the right to work and “enjoy the fruits of their labor,” and that any black man that fought in the Civil War should be granted the right to vote.

Slavery wasn’t abolished for another century later, much after MLK JR. was assassinated in 1968.

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Buy 2 ACW classes and get a 3rd for FREE! In addition to that, we offer opportunities to children interested in learning about game design and game development. Visit www.jcal.org for more information. http://ow.ly/49MW30hrjsj 

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JCAL Presents on 1/11 our #ThursdayNightJazz event at 8pm featuring the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet. @WilkinsImmanuel is an American saxophonist who’s toured with Solange Knowles and other notable artists! Admission is free.

https://www.jcal.org/thursday-night-jazz

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JCAL Presents on Jan.19 our #FIRSTFRIDAYSERIES featuring award winning filmmaker and writer Oscar Sanders whose play takes a satirical stance on our current political climate. The show begins at 7:30pm! Admission is free! https://www.jcal.org/first-friday-series 

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Studies show that classical music can help alleviate people’s stress and anxiety, which was evident seeing how light and airy the atmosphere felt after Amadi and Debby Azikiwe’s performance on December 1st.

Amadi,an award winning violist and his wife Debby, a pianist, brought to JCAL a night of classical music by Mozart, Bach and Bartholdi.

They kicked off our #FIRSTFRIDAY series, an incubator for creative individuals and emerging artists of all disciplines who need a stage, with Bach’s Suite no.1 in G major BWV 1007. 

Bach solo suites comprised of six movements each: prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, two minuets, and a final gigue, are some of the most recognizable and frequently performed compositions ever written for cello, Wikipedia noted.

They then dived right into Mozart’s Violin Concerto no.3 in G major KV 218 , which Amadi said he learned four years ago. Each tune lasted for about ten minutes.

They wrapped their performance up with Bartholdy’s Violin Concerto in e minor op. 64.

A standing ovation followed with people running over to compliment them both on a spectacular show.

For those who weren’t too fond of classical music at the start of the show, left with a new found appreciation for it.

His love for classical music, Amadi said, was passed down from his uncle, whom he credited for teaching him how to play cello  at just eight years old before receiving his formal training at North Carolina School of the Arts and the New England Conservatory.

Amadi who many know him for his stunning solo and recital performances, chamber music collaborations and community engagement events, first performed at JCAL about six to seven years ago.

He expressed how happy he was when JCAL’s Program Associate Yue had welcomed him back with open arms, after reaching out to her initially. 

All his years of putting on solo and recital performances, chamber music collaborations and community engagement events has not gone unnoticed.

 He’s garnered various awards over the years from the Concert Artists Guild, North Carolina Symphony, New York Philharmonic and etc.

Amadi currently serves as the Music Director of Harlem Symphony.

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5 facts you should know about Amadi Azikiwe before seeing him at our #FIRSTFRIDAYSERIES on Dec.1st!

1)Mr.Azikiwe, a Harlem native had a passion for music at a tender age, playing with his mother before he received his musical training at North Carolina School of the Arts and the New England Conservatory.

2) He’s traveled the country, performing in dozens of cities nationwide, from NYC, to Chicago to Washington D.C and has even put on a show at the U.S Supreme Court. 

3) Azikiwe’s talent has not gone unnoticed, in fact he’s taken home numerous awards including those from the North Carolina Symphony,  Concert Artists Guild,  the National Society of Arts and Letters and etc. And speaking of recognition, he’s made television appearances on “St. Paul Sunday,” on WNYC in New York, on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today”,WGBH in Boston, and the BBC, etc.

4) As an orchestral musician, he’s performed alongside the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, acted as principal violist of the SHIRA Jerusalem International Symphony Orchestra as well as guest principal violist of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.

5) Azikiwe has toured with Music from Marlboro and performed at over a dozen music festival including the San Juan Islands Festivals, El Paso International Chamber Music Festival, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Salt Bay Chamber Festival.

Azikiwe’s resume goes beyond what was mentioned above. He is an award winning violist whose performance with his wife, a pianist herself, is one you won’t want to miss out on!! The tickets are free!