Calling all local artists! The Woodhaven Art Circle has put out a call for their very first art show this fall, which they hope will become an annual staple in our community.

“Our mission is to bring the arts to our neighbors, our community and our youth,” says Mahfuza Rahman, the artist known as MSR. “We hope to root out those artists who have retreated inwards when the pandemic hit.”

“Woodhaven is full of talented artists, and through the help of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society we have begun to discover and connect with each other,” MSR adds.

The Woodhaven Art Circle’s Fall Showcase is scheduled for Saturday, September 24th and will be held at Emanuel United Church of Christ on 91st Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard. If you are interested in participating, email the Art Circle at woodhavenartcircle@gmail.com or follow them on Instagram at @woodhavenartcircle.

Much of the work on display will be on sale and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center for Women, located on 88th Avenue and 87th Street in Woodhaven, to help fund their free ESL program for women.

The members of the Woodhaven Art Circle are not only excited for the opportunity to show off their skills but they are looking forward to meeting and collaborating with other like-minded artists in our community.

“Everyone has something to bring to the table,” says the artist known as Dark Reconstruction. “We want to make sure the voices and visions of marginalized and emerging creators have a platform in our neighborhood.”

Technoquilter Jennifer Lambert sees tremendous potential for our art collective and how it can impact the community. “Art is the pulse of an individual,” she says. “It can radiate and engulf a neighborhood and bring the community together, helping to understand, grow and unify our colorfully rich diverse Woodhavenneighborhood.”

Currently, the Woodhaven Art Circle consists of a few painters, muralists, a photographer, a technoquilter collage artist, a jewelry maker, a textile quitter, a published writer and poet, a musician/busker and a DJ. But there’s not only plenty of room for more artists within each discipline, the WAC is open to all forms of arts and expression.

The group is excited to see where the WAC fits into our community and how it will help local artists.

Christine Barbour, an accomplished and published poet says “An arts organization is important to the community because it takes the artist out of themselves, from behind closed doors, and allows them into a learning community of like-minded individuals where, for the most part, their creativity will soar.”

“Our mission is to encourage artists to come out and share their message with the world to help inspire, heal and motivate others to discover (or rediscover) an artistic ambition that has resided within their soul,” says artist Deborah Camp, whose work may be familiar to you as she often paints murals on the windows of local businesses.

“We hope this exhibition is going to be the catalyst for launching and sparking uplifting discussions revolving around art with the inclusion of the diverse community from the youth to the elderly of all walks of life,” Camp says.

All local artists are welcome to participate, with a focus on the local artists right here in Woodhaven. MSR sees Woodhaven as fertile ground for growth.

“Woodhaven is a community filled with different cultures and we are hoping to bring them together by sharing our different artistic expressions,” she says. “There will be several free interactive workshops including mandala making, painting, arts and crafts, and an open microphone for storytelling.”

So if you’ve been creating art and would love to show off your talent and collaborate with fellow local artists, this is a great opportunity to do so. Maybe you know someone who is very talented but just hasn’t had the chance to show off their skills. Please pass this article along to them.

This is just the start of a movement here in Woodhaven, a movement driven by creatives and artists. It will be interesting to check back with them in the near future to see how well they are developing!