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Kaufman Arts District promotes borough as cultural destination with Backlot Art Fest

Kaufman Arts District promotes borough as cultural destination with Backlot Art Fest
Photo by Merle Exit
By Merle Exit

The Kaufman Arts District, home to Kaufman Studios, one of the oldest continuously used movie studios in the world, is a community of unique cultural institutions that support emerging artists.

Spanning from 31st Street to the west, 34th Avenue to the north, Steinway Street to the east, and 37th Avenue to the south, the idea is to advance and promote this area as a vibrant cultural destination and home for the creative industries.

In June, Kaufman Arts District hosted a free Backlot Art Fest that included the Easement Art Space. It was located at the Kaufman Studios at 36th Street and 34th Avenue in Astoria.

“It is a new space,” curator Tina Stipanovic said. “This particular exhibition consists of eight different artists, mostly with murals.”

Four original paintings by Marlene Tseng Yu can be seen just as you enter the Easement.

“Marlene reached out to me as part of a theme where the artists have messages,” Stipanovic said. “She has a strong one with an environmental cause.”

These paintings will be on display through October, 2017.

Marlene chose the paintings from her collection. Two of the paintings are posted as Beyond and Beneath of the Universe that include: Fly Over Milky Way from the Galaxy and Milky Way Series, and Unearthed Ruby from the Cave Treasure Series.

Opposite, and titled “Environmental Green in Art” was “Glacier Arch Melting” from the Glacier Melting Series and “Emerald Forest” from the Rainforest Series.

Marlene’s daughter, Stephanie Yu Lusk, is the director of the Marlene Yu Museum in Shreveport, La. Stephanie has recently produced T-shirts that resemble her mother’s paintings.