When Professor Julen Esteban-Pretel presented his proposal for a joint collaboration between four departments of Queens College (CUNY): Drama, Theatre & Dance, Art, Economics, and Sociology, the concept was, in part, to highlight A Year of Migration at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, which started in October, 2019, with the exhibition, Arte Cubano.  The focus of this proposal was seventy mostly black and white photographs by Esteban-Pretel selected from hundreds, documenting the dancers’ portraits, backstage, rehearsal, and performance of four works by four QC dance professors including former dance concert director, Richard Move, Guanglei Hui, Carolyn Webb and Edisa Weeks, and performed by QC students in 2017 titled Migrations.

Here are the links to two of the videos:
Richard Move, “Wait for me” https://vimeo.com/266887757
Edisa Weeks, “what’s in your suitcase?” https://vimeo.com/246120260

Video projections of the performances, costumes, and stage props accompany the photographs on the first floor of the museum. Esteban-Pretel is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at QC as well as a dedicated performance photographer of note. His main area of research in macroeconomics and labor economics led to this examination of the contribution that immigrants make to the artistic and socio-economic environment of New York City. 

MIGRATIONS: A STUDY OF ARTS & IDENTITY presents an opportunity for the Godwin-Ternbach Museum to celebrate its mission in presenting timely issues such as immigration to the populations of Queens College, the borough of Queens, and the city of New York. It is a vital and unique collaboration between the arts and social sciences from various perspectives, and across various disciplines, of a critical subject that has and continues to transform the city. Finally, the exhibition provides a space for education in which the Departments of Drama, Theatre and Dance, Art and Photography, and Economics and Sociology, can bring their students to share aspects of their disciplines that have been created within the College, by classmates and colleagues alike.

Graphic panels contributed by QC professors Andy Beveridge and Francesc Ortega from the Departments of Sociology and Economics, provide evidence of how waves of migrations of people into New York City have shaped its global demography and thriving economy.

Ten large-scale color photographs from the “Disruption” series by Long Island City photographer Orestes Gonzalez, documenting the complexity and hardship of immigrant stories here in NYC and abroad, have been selected as well. These moving works honor immigrants operating on the borders of society, often homeless, often unemployed, sacrificing the familiarity of family, culture,  and homeland in search of a better life and opportunity. 

Finally, campus visitors will have the opportunity to engage with the exhibition by actively interacting with a large embroidered map of Queens loaned by the Queens Memory Project (QMP) originally founded at QC, and now administered by the Queens Public Library, enlivens the exhibition upstairs. This gives museum visitors the opportunity to engage in craft to place themselves in the community by marking their significant places in the borough. On selected days, volunteers will assist campus visitors with sewing supplies to add their stories to the quilt.

Please note that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the physical exhibition will only be open to Queens College students, faculty, and staff.

The museum gratefully acknowledges Professors Tony Gonzalez and Matthew Greco, and Linda Jackson, of the Art Department for their contributions and support to the realization of this exhibition.