Jamaica Forum for Public Art Otherwise

Core Artistic and Program Collaborators

• Barbara Brown (EQA): Chairperson of Eastern Queens Alliance (EQA), the federation of civic associations that mobilizes around environmental justice issues in Southeast Queens, in particular, issues of air quality and aircraft noise impacting neighborhoods under JFK Airport flight paths. Collaborator on Sounding Data Justice project funded by American Council for Learned Societies.
• Shervone Neckles (SEQAA): Artist affiliated with Southeast Queens Artist Alliance (SEQAA). Neckles collaborated on programming for her Steeping Memory: A Collective Gathering exhibition at the York College Arts Gallery, co-organizing workshops, walking tours, and public programs that integrated art, care practices, and community engagement.
• Rejin Leys (SEQAA): Artist affiliated with SEQAA who led the papermaking workshop using medicinal herbs and spices as part of Neckles’s exhibition programming for her exhibition, Steeping Memory: A Collective Gathering at the York College Arts Gallery. Leys also co-organized the May 2026 Jane’s Walk NYC walking tour, Museum in Motion: Art History in Jamaica.
• Elizabeth Velazquez (SEQAA): Artist and SEQAA member who led the workshop Simple Plant Propagation for Mind, Body & Spirit Care for Shervone Neckles’s exhibition, Steeping Memory: A Collective Gathering at the York College Arts Gallery. Velazquez also submitted a proposal for a future public art exhibition with public programming at the York College Arts Gallery.
• Damali Abrams (SEQAA): Artist and SEQAA member who collaborated on Museum in Motion: Art History in Jamaica, the Jane’s Walk NYC walking tour at York College, contributing to public-facing interpretation of York College’s public art within a community walking tour format.
• Sherese Francis (SEQAA): Artist and SEQAA member who collaborated on Museum in Motion: Art History in Jamaica, the Jane’s Walk NYC walking tour at York College, supporting community-based interpretation and participatory engagement with York College’s public art.
• Renee K. Smith: Wellness practitioner who led the workshop Cinnamon as Medicine, Ritual & Blessing, contributing a focus on embodied knowledge, healing practices, and community care within Neckles’s Steeping Memory program series.

Institutional and Community Partners

• American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS): Nonprofit federation of organizations which runs the ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant that funded the Sounding Data Justice project, part of Jamaica Forum for Public Art Otherwise, contributing to site-responsive programming that combined public art and community dialogue about environmental justice issues.
• Eastern Queens Alliance, Inc (EQA): Federation of civic associations that collaborated on Sounding Data Justice performances and gatherings, contributing to site-responsive programming that combined performance, public art, and community dialogue about environmental justice issues.
• Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive: Archive of music history and Black American heritage in Southeast Queens founded by cultural activist Clarence Irving in 1987 and established at York College in 1989 with the assistance of York College professor and historian Robert Parmet.
• City University of New York (CUNY) University Archivist Team: Project staff from the Cultivating Archives & Institutional Memory project funded by the Mellon Foundation facilitated digitization of audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive at York College by CUNY TV.
• City University of New York (CUNY) Office of Research: Jamaica Forum for Public Art Otherwise benefited from the AY2025-2026 Research in the Classroom Grant awarded by the CUNY Office of Research; the grant supported work on two of the walking tours and on a special exhibition curated for the York College Library.
• York College Office of Institutional Advancement and Office of Academic Affairs: York College offices that supported various aspects of the Jamaica Forum for Public Art Otherwise; Institutional Advancement provided funds for catering for Southeast Queens Film Festival Events and the Office of Academic Affairs provided funds for digitizing audio-visual materials from Clarence Irving’s Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archives.
• Southeast Queens Center for History and Culture (SQCHC): Cultural organization that co-organized multiple screenings and conversations during the Southeast Queens Film Festival, supporting public access to local histories and media practices.
• Queens Memory Project (via Meral Agish): Public history initiative focused on documenting Queens communities. Represented by Meral Agish, who co-organized the Jane’s Walk tour, Museum in Motion: Art History in Jamaica, contributing archival and community storytelling perspectives.
• Studio Museum in Harlem: Leading cultural institution in Harlem, New York, dedicated to artists of African descent and the presentation of contemporary art. The Studio Museum collaborated by inviting the project lead to participate in the panel discussion On Visibility (Tom Lloyd) in March 2026.
• Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM): Cultural institution that participated in the Southeast Queens Film Festival through the Corona Collection showcase, contributing oral history videos and discussion programming.
• Municipal Art Society of New York: Citywide organization that facilitated Jane’s Walk NYC 2026, supporting public engagement with urban space, history, and civic dialogue.

Individual Collaborators and Participants

• Ayanna Telfort (SQCHC): Community member and cultural activist with the Southeast Queens Center for History and Culture who facilitated several film festival events and associated conversations with local filmmakers, cultural activists and artists.
• Carl Clay (Black Spectrum Theatre): Filmmaker and founder of Black Spectrum Theatre. Clay co-organized and participated in a retrospective of his films for the Southeast Queens Film Festival, contributing to discussions on film history in Southeast Queens.
• Meral Agish (Queens Memory): Public oral historian affiliated with Queens Memory who co-organized the Museum in Motion walking tour, contributing expertise in oral history and community archives.
• Mark Adams (York College): Collaborator and faculty member at York College (Music) who co-organized and participated in the event dedicated to cultural activist Clarence Irving’s Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Harlan Penn (York College): Collaborator and faculty member at York College (Theatre) who participated in a discussion with Carl Clay on media production and artistic collaboration at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Dawn Roberts-Semple (York College): Collaborator and faculty member at York College (Earth and Physical Sciences) who participated in the Sounding Data Justice programs in September and October.
• Robert Parmet (York College): Historian and founding faculty member of York College who assisted cultural activist Clarence Irving with establishing the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive at York College with the intention of establishing its campus as a hub for community archiving.
• Andras Blazsek (University at Buffalo): Collaborator and doctoral fellow at University at Buffalo (SUNY) who co-organized and co-developed the Sounding Data Justice programs in September and October.
• Natalie Milbrodt (CUNY): CUNY University Archivist who facilitated digitization of audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archives and co-organized the event launching the materials at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Bridget Day (CUNY): Digital Archivist on the CUNY University Archivist’s team who facilitated uploading and metadata tagging of audio-visual materials to establish the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive Collection on the JSTOR database.
• Regina Carra (CUNY): Outreach and Processing Archivist on the CUNY University Archivist’s team who assisted with organizing the event launching the digitized audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive.
• Dave Rice (CUNY): Moving Image Archivist at CUNY TV who supervised the digitization of audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive.
• Catriona Schlosser (CUNY): Archivist for CUNY TV who assisted with the digitization of audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive and presented at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Brian Dunbar (CUNY): Digitization contractor with CUNY TV who digitized audio-visual materials from the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archives shown at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Jayden Rampersad: York College undergraduate (Art History) who worked on metadata tagging of audio-visual materials to establish the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archive Collection on the JSTOR database.
• Joshua N. Goodman: York College undergraduate (Communications Technology) who worked on the Southeast Queens Film Festival graphic design campaign as part of an internship supervised by the project lead of Jamaica Forum for Public Art Otherwise.
• Charanya Ramakrishnan (LAHM): Representative of the Louis Armstrong House Museum who co-organized the Corona Collection screening and discussion for the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Jake Meginsky: Co-director of Milford Graves: Full Mantis, who co-organized the Jamaica premiere screening and facilitated a discussion on Graves’s legacy at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Jason Corley: Former student of Milford Graves who participated in the post-screening discussion, contributing firsthand perspectives on Graves’s pedagogy and influence at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Tatiana Graves-Kochuthara: Granddaughter of Milford Graves who participated in the screening discussion, offering familial insight into Graves’s life and work at the Southeast Queens Film Festival.
• Cherise Jones: Artist and daughter of former neighbor of Louis and Lucille Armstrong who participated in a discussion at the Louis Armstrong House Museum Corona Collection screening.
• Lillie Crowder (Black American Heritage Foundation): Cultural activist and widow of fellow cultural activist Clarence Irving who participated in the Black American Heritage Foundation Music History Archives program at the Southeast Queens Film Festival, contributing community memory.
• Wilma Hunt-Watts (Black American Heritage Foundation): Community collaborator affiliated with Black American Heritage Foundation through cultural activist Lillie Crowder. Hunt Watts facilitated community engagement and public dialogue connected at the BAHF Music History Archives event at the Southeast Queens Film Festival
• Patricia Robinson: Media personality who participated in a public conversation with Carl Clay during his film retrospective program for the Southeast Queens Film Festival.

Visiting Artists and Art Workers

• LaStarsha McGarity: Conservator of the Black Art Conservators group who participated in the September 2025 walking tour, contributing expertise in art conservation and public art stewardship.
• Dionis Ortiz: Artist and art handler who participated in the York College public art tour, contributing technical and artistic perspectives on installation and care.
• Sreshta Rit Premnath: Artist who participated in multiple walking tours and follow-up visits to develop a related project informed by York College’s public art collection.
• Kahlil Joseph and Rich Spirit: Artist and filmmaker whose work BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions was shown at a site-specific screening designed for Martin Puryear’s Ark (1986), among the high-profile public art commissions at York College. Rich Spirit is a curatorial film distributor that works with Joseph.

Elected Officials

• John Fadugbagbe (Legislative Analyst, Office of Assemblyman Clyde Vanel): Legislative analyst who requested a public art walking tour through artist Shervone Neckles (SEQAA); represents governmental engagement with the project.
• Adrienne Adams (Former Speaker of the New York City Council):  Then Speaker of the New York City Council who participated in the Sounding Data Justice program in September 2025 through Chairperson Barbara Brown of EQA; represents governmental engagement with the project.