A conversation between Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful and Heng-Gil Han
NDER: I am interested in talking about Jamaica, Queens, with you. I would say that you are one of the curators in New York with the stronger connection to the neighborhood. What brought you to the area?
H-GH: Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (aka. Jamaica Arts Center) has a strong history. By showing emerging artists, artists of color and/or women, they spearheaded the advancement of visual arts in New York City, which means the development of contemporary art, if we assume that New York is the capital city of contemporary art, since the 1970s. People often ignore this history, but the fact is that many artists benefited from JCAL or JAC at the early stage of their careers, no matter whether the artists recognize it or not.
NDER: In a brief piece that I wrote about HERE IN JAMAICA, the open call that I launched with No Longer Empty, I talk about Jamaica as the place where New York begins and ends. What are your thoughts about Jamaica in relationship to the rest of the city?
H-GH: I agree. It is home to the JFK airport, the gateway where people arrive in and depart from New York City; where New York City literally begins and ends. As such, Jamaica is an important place for the rest of the city. As a gateway, Jamaica is also a transitional place, which perhaps starkly differentiates it from the rest of the city. Similarly, JCAL or JAC is also a transitional art space that artists pass through from one point to another in their career or artistic growth.
NDER: I have worked in Jamaica twice, and I still feel that I am just scratching the surface when it comes to getting to know the place. There are endless layers to this amazing neighborhood that are not readily available to outsiders like me. What do you have to say about this?
H-GH: Isn’t that the nature of a transitional place? The fluidity? I myself didn’t go through all the layers yet. It is inexhaustible. I don’t think that anyone in Jamaica is an insider who knows the place inside out and can claim it his or her own. You cannot hold running water in your hand as you cannot step twice into the same stream.
NDER: I am interested in how places like Jamaica, Queens, and my home in the South Bronx, have managed to retain a distinctive personality while a great deal of our city is looking more and more like a suburban mall or a playground for the wealthy. What makes Jamaica Jamaica in your opinion?
H-GH: The question sounds like a search for an essential character of Jamaica. But it is a question about the local identity in flux and constancy at the same time. How do you identify Jamaica culturally? I think it is like the Ship of Theseus, of which old decayed planks were replaced with new strong ones during the voyage insomuch that all planks were new when the ship arrived at its destination. Is the ship the same or not? As the neighborhood is transitional, new immigrants come in and old immigrants leave. “What makes Jamaica Jamaica in your opinion?” Family owned small shops. Hard-working people who are about to begin their new life here in New York (or America) with enthusiasm. Survivors and adventurers. These are people who make Jamaica.
NDER: What are some of the collaborations that you may have seen emerge between local cultural producers and outside artists like me? I am asking because I would really like to spend more time in Jamaica learning about places like the Afrikan Poetry Theater and the work they do.
H-GH: There have been many. There are the Cultural Collaborative Jamaica and A Better Jamaica. You might want to reach out to them. Jamaica Business Improvement District is also a valuable organization.
NDER: I keep hearing about the changes that are coming to Jamaica. How will all of this affect life and local culture in the area? Developers please do not turn the Tabernacle of Prayer on Jamaica Avenue into a Cineplex.
H-GH: The changes are not stoppable. And it is a complex question I cannot explore in a few words. Neither can I predict what the impacts of the changes will be. I only hope for the best. I totally agree that the Tabernacle Church cannot be turned into a cinema. It is gorgeous and is a true asset of the community.
NDER: What are the first words that come to your mind, heart and gut when you think of Jamaica?
HG-H: I love the neighborhood.
Photo: Heng-Gil Han
NDER: I am interested in talking about Jamaica, Queens, with you. I would say that you are one of the curators in New York with the stronger connection to the neighborhood. What brought you to the area?
H-GH: Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (aka. Jamaica Arts Center) has a strong history. By showing emerging artists, artists of color and/or women, they spearheaded the advancement of visual arts in New York City, which means the development of contemporary art, if we assume that New York is the capital city of contemporary art, since the 1970s. People often ignore this history, but the fact is that many artists benefited from JCAL or JAC at the early stage of their careers, no matter whether the artists recognize it or not.
NDER: In a brief piece that I wrote about HERE IN JAMAICA, the open call that I launched with No Longer Empty, I talk about Jamaica as the place where New York begins and ends. What are your thoughts about Jamaica in relationship to the rest of the city?
H-GH: I agree. It is home to the JFK airport, the gateway where people arrive in and depart from New York City; where New York City literally begins and ends. As such, Jamaica is an important place for the rest of the city. As a gateway, Jamaica is also a transitional place, which perhaps starkly differentiates it from the rest of the city. Similarly, JCAL or JAC is also a transitional art space that artists pass through from one point to another in their career or artistic growth.
NDER: I have worked in Jamaica twice, and I still feel that I am just scratching the surface when it comes to getting to know the place. There are endless layers to this amazing neighborhood that are not readily available to outsiders like me. What do you have to say about this?
H-GH: Isn’t that the nature of a transitional place? The fluidity? I myself didn’t go through all the layers yet. It is inexhaustible. I don’t think that anyone in Jamaica is an insider who knows the place inside out and can claim it his or her own. You cannot hold running water in your hand as you cannot step twice into the same stream.
NDER: I am interested in how places like Jamaica, Queens, and my home in the South Bronx, have managed to retain a distinctive personality while a great deal of our city is looking more and more like a suburban mall or a playground for the wealthy. What makes Jamaica Jamaica in your opinion?
H-GH: The question sounds like a search for an essential character of Jamaica. But it is a question about the local identity in flux and constancy at the same time. How do you identify Jamaica culturally? I think it is like the Ship of Theseus, of which old decayed planks were replaced with new strong ones during the voyage insomuch that all planks were new when the ship arrived at its destination. Is the ship the same or not? As the neighborhood is transitional, new immigrants come in and old immigrants leave. “What makes Jamaica Jamaica in your opinion?” Family owned small shops. Hard-working people who are about to begin their new life here in New York (or America) with enthusiasm. Survivors and adventurers. These are people who make Jamaica.
NDER: What are some of the collaborations that you may have seen emerge between local cultural producers and outside artists like me? I am asking because I would really like to spend more time in Jamaica learning about places like the Afrikan Poetry Theater and the work they do.
H-GH: There have been many. There are the Cultural Collaborative Jamaica and A Better Jamaica. You might want to reach out to them. Jamaica Business Improvement District is also a valuable organization.
NDER: I keep hearing about the changes that are coming to Jamaica. How will all of this affect life and local culture in the area? Developers please do not turn the Tabernacle of Prayer on Jamaica Avenue into a Cineplex.
H-GH: The changes are not stoppable. And it is a complex question I cannot explore in a few words. Neither can I predict what the impacts of the changes will be. I only hope for the best. I totally agree that the Tabernacle Church cannot be turned into a cinema. It is gorgeous and is a true asset of the community.
NDER: What are the first words that come to your mind, heart and gut when you think of Jamaica?
HG-H: I love the neighborhood.
Photo: Heng-Gil Han
