LIC Community Garden, site of Flux Factory’s Nightlight.
Ooops! We already wrote up our events this week, and somehow, in the fuss surrounding Bushwick Open Studios, one event in Queens got away from us. This Saturday, Queens will see the opening of Nightlight, one of Flux Factory’s annual major exhibitions. It’s one for the night owls; the thirteen artists (including a handful of current Flux residents) plan to turn the Long Island City Community Garden into one big, subversive Glo Worm. More than bright lights, the exhibition brings up some serious issues surrounding how to make public spaces safe, and a place where community members will want to go, whatever time of day it may be.
All the installations are solar-powered, and range from a local wi-fi network (Dan Phiffer) to furniture that can turn on lights in trees (Jung In Jung and Will Owen). Plenty of the works are hidden throughout the garden, and some meant to startle, like Julius Schmiedel who’s created a palm tree projection that lights up the front gate whenever anyone walks by—and for the most part, the installation’s best viewed at night.
Solar power tunnel under construction at the LIC Community Garden. Photo courtesy of Carina Kaufman and Alex Nathanson
“The panels are on a sunset/sunrise timer,” the show’s curators, Fluxers Carina Kaufman and Alex Nathanson told me over email, “so as soon as the sun starts setting, the entirety of the installation has the ability to light up.” Pretty much, the ideal time to see the work’s between 8:30 PM and 5:30 AM.
In case you were wondering how Flux was able to put on a nighttime exhibition in city-owned property, it’s because, as the show’s curators told me, community gardens can create their own hours.
And that was a necessity: The garden’s going to be open all night long, every single night through the run of the exhibition (through June 28th). So go: Play with the file dump, search for some hidden art, or pretend you’re in the tropics with a glowing palm tree.
Nightlight at Long Island City Community Garden
49th Avenue between Vernon Blvd & 5th Street, Long Island City, Queens
Opening reception: Saturday, June 7, 2014, 6:00 – 10:00 PM
Flux Thursday: Thursday, June 12, 2014, 8:00 PM
Closing performance: Saturday, June 28, 2014, 8:00 PM
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