For many New Yorkers, one’s zip code determines the pizza they eat, the baseball team they cheer, and their general attitude about life. But can it influence the art they make? By bringing New York-area artists to the Queens College Art Center in Flushing for a month-long residency, EXPRESS+LOCAL: NYC AESTHETICS explores the possible effect of locale on their works. 16 artists (Ellis Avery, Becky Franco, Carl Gambrell, Naomi Grossman, Erin Hanke, Rob Kimmel, Howard Lerner, Kristyna Milde, Marek Milde, Tommy Mintz, April Nett, Antonia Perez, Anne Sherwood Pundyk, Derek Vadala + Jon Wohl) from diverse disciplines and divided into three groups, will share gallery space for one month at a time (Jan. 28-Feb. 28; March 1-31; and April 1-29). The public will have the opportunity to view the works-in-progress and talk with all the participants during an Open Studio one night each month and at varied times during their residency. A free culminating exhibition (May 5-June 30) will showcase pieces created during their time in Queens and feature artists’ talks with the curator, Tara Mathison.

Depending on their chosen residency, the visual artists, writers, musicians, and curators will work separately or together within the gallery space to respond to the idea of place. EXPRESS+LOCAL aims to offer insight into the varied studio practices documenting their creative response to New York and specifically, the borough of Queens. While some of the artists are very familiar with Queens and Queens College, others have had no direct experience before the residency; EXPRESS+LOCAL may lead each artist to forge a new sense of place.