Writers & Artists Interactive Exchange At QMA

Until October 2007, the Queens Museum of Art will host "Poets in the Galleries", a cocktail hour, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. followed by a creative exchange within the museum's galleries. Throughout the summer and early fall, six poets will lead interactive readings and discussions focusing on the themes raised by Generation 1.5, the current exhibition at the Queens Museum of Art which highlights artists who emigrated during their teen years.

As distinguished and emerging voices in local, national and international literary scenes, these poets consider Generation 1.5 the ideal springboard for a dialogue related to the immigrant experience. Poets in the Galleries will feature the following artists in order of appearance: Aug. 18, Sarah Husain, Sep. 22, Luis H. Francia, and Sep. 29, Roger Bonair-Agard. The series will conclude on Oct. 13 with an appearance by Julio Marzan, the newly appointed Poet Laureate of Queens. Each presentation promises an artistic and intellectual exchange tailored to show audiences new ways of accessing the museum's resources.

The Queens Museum of Art was established in 1972 to provide a vital cultural center in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park for the borough's unique, international population. Today it is home to the Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335- square-foot scale model of the five boroughs, and features temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art that reflect the cultural diversity of Queens, as well as a collection of Tiffany glass from the Neustadt Museum of Tiffany Art. The museum provides valuable educational outreach through a number of programs geared toward schoolchildren, teens, families, seniors and individuals with physical and mental disabilities.

The museum is housed in the New York City Building, which is owned by the city of New York.

With the assistance of the Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and the New York City Council, the museum is supported in part by public funds from the city Department of Cultural Affairs, the city Department for the Aging, and the city Department of Youth and Community Development. Additional funding is provided by the New York state legislature, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Poets in the Galleries series at the Queens Museum of Art is supported in part by the Independence Community Foundation.

Major funding is also provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Deutsche Bank Foundation, Silvercup Studios, Madison National Bank, Werwaiss Properties Company, American Express Company, Altria Group, Inc., Dominick and Rose Ciampa Foundation, Commerce Bank, Crystal Foundation, Ernst & Young LLP, Goldman Sachs & Co., Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Pfizer Inc., Mathis-Pfohl Foundation, The New York Times Company Foundation, Roslyn Savings Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, Inc., Consolidated Edison, Goode Realty Co., The Kupferberg Foundation, The Shops at Atlas Park, Goode Realty Company, Blumenfeld Development Group, Ltd. and the QMA board of directors and members. The QMA is proud to be a cultural arts partner of WNYC Radio.

The museum's hours are Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m- 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students and children, and free for children under 5 and members.

For general visitor information, go to the museum's Web site www.queensmuseum.org or call 718.592.9700.