Zach Rothman-Hicks is a visionary artist and the founder of Gabbing with Gays, a vibrant platform dedicated to fostering community and conversation within the LGBTQ+ community which was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a passion for creating inclusive spaces, Zach combines his artistic talent with his commitment to advocacy, using art as a medium to connect people and spark meaningful dialogue. His innovative approach to portrait drawing and interactive workshops has garnered widespread acclaim, highlighting the power of creativity in building bridges and celebrating diversity. Through his work, Zach continues to inspire and unite individuals from all walks of life. In addition to his innovative approach to portrait drawing and interactive workshops, Zach is also a respected educator at Queens College, where he inspires and guides students in their artistic journeys.

André Knights is a Health and Wellness Instructor and certified LMT. He has worked with at-risk youth in an alternative school setting in the New York City Department of Education for more than 20 years. Prior to this he worked in the Adult Literacy Program at the Brooklyn Public Library. He and Zach have collaborated on numerous social practice art projects since 2021.

Together, Zach and André conduct interactive art workshops in public venues, including libraries and nonprofit art spaces.

"Seeing with Your Heart & Soul" is an extended journey from our family workshop, featuring installation works by Zach and André and innovative portraits created by workshop participants. This unique exhibition arises from an interactive portrait drawing workshop led by Zach and André, where participants are provided with clear transparent plastic boards to draw each other's portraits.

Joell Baxter is a Brooklyn-based artist. In 2024, she will complete a permanent commission in Queens as part of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Public Art for Public Schools program. Baxter has been awarded residencies at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Lower East Side Printshop, and the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program. Recent exhibitions include Field Projects in New York, NY, and the Marsh Gallery at Indiana University in Indianapolis, IN. She holds an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Baxter's work chases fleeting visions at the intersection of color and space. Built out of layers of printed, woven, and cut paper, the stacks of open weave reveal the layers beneath, forming complex structures of overlapping shapes and colors that pixelate and waver. Geometric compositions repeat within and across works at different scales and hues, referencing the ease of these shifts in digital space but enacted painstakingly by hand. Within each strip of paper, the printed colors are always in motion, graduating from one fully saturated hue to its spectral opposite. Laid directly on floors and circling walls, these works visually shift even as the viewer stays in place, materializing the unstable shifts of light, air, and atoms surrounding us.

In this exhibition, Baxter will craft an immersive and luminous environment—a room within a room. Constructed with floor-to-ceiling woven panels, the installation ingeniously utilizes the compact space's structure as its foundation. A series of permeable layers will dynamically engage with the voids in the existing architecture, introducing vibrant and shifting colors throughout. Visitors are invited to enter and explore the space, transforming into both observers and creators of this captivating experience.

Mary Tooley Parker is an accomplished textile artist known for her realistic interpretations of people and nature, drawing inspiration from memories, local history, and visual imagery. Her art seamlessly blends new and recycled materials, including wool, cotton, silk fabric, fleece, handspun yarn, silk fiber, metallic fibers, and more. Employing both natural and synthetic dyes, Parker masterfully creates a diverse palette of colors tailored to her artistic vision.

Recognizing the distinct reception of textile art, Parker understands that it engages viewers in a unique manner, stimulating a different part of the brain. Textile art, especially through the tactile sense of touch, evokes a sense of warmth and familiarity even before the visual image is fully processed. Working primarily in the medium of rug hooking, Parker feels a profound connection not only to the fibers under her fingertips but also to the historical significance of women expressing themselves through fiber arts during challenging times.

In her artistic practice, Parker elevates rug hooking from a utilitarian craft to a contemporary art form. This tradition, rooted in the resourcefulness of previous generations, is skillfully adapted to reflect her 21st-century experience.

This exhibition unfolds the transformative journey embodied in Mary Tooley Parker's textile art—a seamless fusion of craft and artistry. Through years of dedicated exploration, Parker's mastery of textile techniques has blossomed into a profound learning experience. Breaking the boundaries of materials, subjects, and expression in hooked rugs, she skillfully incorporates a diverse array of elements. From the nuanced use of natural and synthetic dyes to shape her color palettes, to the integration of unconventional materials such as silk, handspun yarn, metallic film ribbon, bicycle streamers, shoelaces, and more, Parker's showcased work epitomizes the harmonious convergence of traditional craftsmanship and innovative artistic expression.