Flushing Town Hall

FLUSHING COUNCIL ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS AT FLUSHING TOWN HALL

Mission and History Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (FCCA), located at historic Flushing Town Hall (1862), was founded in 1979 to be a revitalizing force for its community, and a catalyst for developing and promoting the visual and performing arts throughout Queens.

Queens County is, according to statistics from the 2000 U.S. Census, the most culturally diverse county in America, with an exceptionally high concentration of recently arrived immigrants. In Flushing, people speaking 179 languages and hailing from virtually every country on earth, live and work together in a dense urban environment, creating a unique community that in many respects represents a prototype of the emerging American city of the 21st century.

FCCA manages and programs Flushing Town Hall on behalf of the City of New York, which owns the building. In 1999, the Council completed an $8 million restoration of this 1862 landmark, converting it from an abandoned eyesore into a thriving center for the visual and performing arts. Flushing Town Hall’s facilities include a 340-seat state-of-the-art concert hall/theater, three museum-quality galleries, a classroom, offices, a garden that accommodates up to 300 people for outdoor events, and a visitors’ center. FCCA’s FY ’07 Organizational Budget is $2.2 million.

FCCA meets its mission by presenting an array of high quality programs at Town Hall—exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography (frequently in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution); performances of jazz, theater, dance and classical music; and educational opportunities for community residents of all ages.

FCCA also provides important cultural services throughout the Borough of Queens. These include cultural tourism (FCCA created the Queens Jazz Trail Tours in 1999 documenting the hundreds of jazz legends who have made Queens their home and their contributions to the development of jazz in America.); education (FCCA offers on-site workshops for students and sends teaching artists into public schools); and senior services (special performances, and hands-on creative opportunities). Hundreds of individual artists and cultural organizations also benefit from various services offered by the Council, including seminars, workshops, forums, and consultancies.

In 2003, the City purchased a parcel of property one block north of Town Hall, for the Council’s use. A Campus of Creativity is planned for the site that will provide much needed educational, community engagement and studio space to support Town Hall’s programs, enabling FCCA to better serve the cultural needs of its community.

Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts is a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group; (CIG), and an Affiliate Member of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research institute.