LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Queens
Council on the Arts to be celebrated on February 26, 2015

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to commemorate those
events of historical significance which add strength, vigor and inspira-
tion to the cultural diversity and quality of life in the communities of
the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 50th Anniversary of the Queens Council on the Arts to be cele-
brated at its 2015 Anniversary Kickoff "Casino Caliente" on Thursday,
February 26, 2015, at the Paper Factory Hotel, Long Island City, New
York; and
WHEREAS, Established in 1966 by leader organizations in the borough's
cultural community, with the guidance of Jeanne Dale Katz, the Queens
Council on the Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering
and developing the arts in Queens County, and supporting individual
artists and arts organizations in presenting their cultural diversity
for the benefit of the community; and
WHEREAS, The Queens Symphony Orchestra, Queens Opera Association,
Queens Borough Public Library, Oratorio Society, Queensborough Community
College, and St. John's University, among other visionary institutions,
came together to form the Queens Council on the Arts as an umbrella
organization to promote cultural growth and the development of the arts
in Queens, and to help artists and groups present the borough's diverse
cultural resources to Queens residents as well as the larger community;
and
WHEREAS, In the 1960s, the Queens Council on the Arts strived to
establish free concerts in the parks; over the next decade, this worthy
organization fostered the development of the Queens Museum, Jamaica
Center for Arts and Learning, and Colden Center, among other important
institutions; and
WHEREAS, In 1977, the Queens Council on the Arts began to administrate
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs' Greater New York Arts
Development Fund, to which it soon added the New York State Council on
the Arts Decentralization Program funds; since then, it has played a key
role in directing city, state, federal, and private funds to emerging
artists and organizations in Queens for the benefit of the community;
and
WHEREAS, In the 1980s, the Queens Council on the Arts established the
Arts Education, Queens Community Arts Fund, and Folk Arts programs, and
took on the management for the Queens Theatre in the Park, a role that
extended until 1997; today, the Council remains committed to supporting
programs and activities that directly serve the citizens of Queens and
enhance the cultural and artistic climate of the borough; and
WHEREAS, Today, the Queens Council on the Arts improves the cultural
quality of life for the community by supporting individual artists and
artist groups borough-wide through local programming such as Profes-
sional Development Workshops, High School to Arts School Portfolio
Development Programs, and the recent 3rd Space programming in its new
home located at the Kaufman Arts District in Astoria, Queens; and
WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Queens Council on the Arts has grown
into a wide-ranging arts service organization providing grants, profes-
sional development, and education services; in recent years, it has
innovated a wide variety of programming and events, including Project
Diversity Queens, the Individual and Teaching Artist Initiatives, and
the Arts in the Schools grant program; and

WHEREAS, In addition, the Queens Council on the Arts has awarded a
significant amount of grants to artists and arts organizations, provided
arts education to more than a million Queens schoolchildren, and
produced and presented numerous exhibitions as well as guides,
brochures, and maps of art sites in Queens; currently, its workshops,
website, and TV broadcasts reach more than 300,000 individuals each
year; and
WHEREAS, The Queens Council on the Arts has been the recipient of many
awards and accolades including the Arts and Business Council Award,
Governor's Award for the Arts, Mayor's Award for Arts and Culture, and
the Arts and Business Council Encore Award; in 2000, its publication THE
INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS -- A GUIDE TO ETHNIC COMMUNITIES ALONG THE #7
TRAIN won a National Millennium Heritage Trail designation, and received
a Municipal Arts Society Certificate of Merit in 2005; and
WHEREAS, It is most fitting that we take time to celebrate the arts of
our Nation, to honor our artists, and to express our appreciation to
everyone who patronizes the arts; and as we celebrate the arts, we cele-
brate and give thanks to our American freedom, the only atmosphere in
which artists can truly create and in which art is truly the expression
of the soul; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Queens Council on the Arts to be
celebrated on February 26, 2015; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Queens Council on the Arts.