Our Story
About The Garage Art Center
The Garage Art Center, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community art center located in Bayside, Queens. Our mission is to support and promote public interest, awareness, and education in the visual arts through accessible, artist-led programming.
We believe in the power of art to connect people and build community. Guided by our motto—of the artist, by the artist, and for the artist—we are a neighborhood art playground run by artists who generously share their experiences, skills, and creativity with the public.
What We Do
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Solo Exhibitions at Our Gallery
We exclusively present solo exhibitions at our venue, providing each artist the opportunity to showcase their work in-depth. During every exhibition, the artist leads a free, onsite workshop or artist talk related to their show, offering visitors hands-on or behind-the-scenes insight into their practice.
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Group Exhibitions Off-Site
Beyond our gallery, we organize group exhibitions in partnership with institutions like Flushing Town Hall and Queens College Art Center, helping us expand our mission and connect with broader audiences across Queens and New York City.
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Free Public Programs
We host a range of public programs—such as hands-on art workshops and artist talks—that are always free and open to all. These programs are designed to celebrate the rich diversity of our community and foster cross-cultural dialogue through art.
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Community Outreach
We bring visual arts workshops to senior centers, schools, and libraries, in collaboration with organizations such as Korean Community Services (KCS) and SelfHelp Community Services, ensuring access to art experiences beyond gallery walls.
Supporting Artists
One of our core values is to support artists by removing financial barriers and honoring their contributions:
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No exhibition fees
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100% of artwork sales go directly to the artist
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Artists are compensated for leading workshops and talks
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We provide full promotional support, including professionally designed postcards, wall text, email blasts, press releases, and web promotion
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We host an opening reception with complimentary food and beverages to celebrate each exhibition and introduce the artist to the community
By supporting The Garage Art Center, you directly empower working artists and strengthen the cultural fabric of our community.
Join Us
To continue creating accessible, meaningful art experiences in Queens and beyond, we need your support. Your donation—whether online or by check—makes a real difference.
Visit our Donation Page or send a check payable to:
The Garage Art Center, Inc.
26-01 Corporal Kennedy Street
Bayside, NY 11360
The Garage Art Center is grateful for the generous support and partnerships from the following institutions:
We are grateful to the media outlets who have covered our exhibitions and programs:
Our Team
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Stephanie S. Lee
Stephanie S. Lee is an artist, curator, and educator based in Bayside, New York, and the Founding Director of The Garage Art Center. She holds a BFA and an MS from Pratt Institute.
Since 2013, Stephanie has been actively teaching and promoting Korean Folk Art (Minhwa) through exhibitions, workshops, and community-based programs. She previously served as the New York Regional Director of the Korea Minhwa Association for six years. She is currently a teaching artist with the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts and a staff member at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum. Through her leadership, The Garage Art Center advances artist-centered programming, cultural education, and community engagement.
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David B. Koo
David Koo serves as Vice President of The Garage Art Center, bringing extensive operational and entrepreneurial expertise to the organization. He manages a portfolio of more than ten restaurants across the United States and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Seoul National University.
Although his professional background is in business, David is a dedicated patron of the arts. His engagement with art grew through years of supporting his wife’s artistic practice, which led to his own creative pursuit as a photographer. His photographic work focuses on portraiture and landscapes encountered through travel. At The Garage Art Center, David contributes strategic insight, operational discipline, and long-term organizational support.
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Sueim Koo
Sueim Koo is an artist based in Ridgefield, New Jersey. She earned her BFA from SUNY Purchase College and continued her studies at The Art Students League of New York. She has presented five solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions and art fairs, including the Art’s Guild NJ International Juried Exhibition, Monmouth Museum, Weill Cornell Medical Center Library, Bridge to Korea at iHouse Philadelphia, and the Edward Hopper Art Center.
Her work has received awards and recognition from the Da Vinci Art Alliance, Ring Gallery, and Our Common Grounds Artist Guild Gallery. As Treasurer, Sueim brings both artistic insight and fiscal responsibility to support the financial health and sustainability of The Garage Art Center.
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Dong Kyu Kim
Dong Kyu Kim is a mixed-media artist and fashion designer whose work examines themes of migration, labor, and the American dream. Since relocating to the United States in 2007, he has incorporated paper receipts, tickets, and everyday materials into his practice—hand-sewn into layered compositions reflecting personal and collective histories shaped by global economic systems.
He has exhibited widely throughout the United States and is a recipient of the 2021 New Jersey Individual Artist Fellowship Award. Dong Kyu holds a BFA in Fashion Design and is the founder of Chronostitch Lab and Studio, a design consulting company working across art and fashion. As Secretary, he supports board governance, documentation, and organizational transparency.
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Steve Lee
Steve Lee is a committed supporter of The Garage Art Center and contributes to the organization through operational guidance and financial support. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, and received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from New York University.
A strong advocate for the arts, Steve values creativity as a vital force for community connection and personal growth. His involvement reflects his belief in the transformative power of art and his commitment to sustaining meaningful cultural institutions.
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Frances Hynes
Artist Frances Hynes lives in Bayside and taught at LaGuardia Community College until 2013. She received an MA from New York University and a BA from St. John’s University. She also studied at the Art Students League in NY and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy.
Frances has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including one-person shows at MoMA PS1 and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. Her work is represented in numerous museum collections, including the Hudson River Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, Albany Institute of History and Art, and the Farnsworth Art Museum, among others.
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Tina Seligman
Tina Seligman is an artist, composer, writer, and curator based in Queens, New York. After earning a BA in Art from Queens College, she studied music and movement including Isadora Duncan dance technique. Her 2018 solo exhibit at Flushing Town Hall explored patterns from solar, lunar and tidal cycles. In 2016, Tina's video collaboration with Dan Rubin was screened as an experimental short at the New York Independent Film Festival.
Since 2000, Tina has been a Teaching Artist-in-Residence through Flushing Town Hall. In 2018, she became an Education Representative for their CASA afterschool programs and set designer for Adam Crescenzi’s CASA student productions. She contributed to Art of the Times magazine from 2005 through 2013 and wrote essays for art books including Duoling Huang: The Cultural Landscape in 2014.
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Seung Lee
Seung Lee is an artist and a Professor of Fine Art at Long Island University Post. He earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from Pratt Institute.
His paintings, drawings, and large-scale installations have been widely exhibited across the United States and internationally, including in China, Italy, France, Japan, Germany, and Korea. His work has been reviewed in prestigious publications such as The New York Times, Newsday, Kyoto Times, Korea Daily News, Busan Daily, Art World Magazine, Art Price Magazine, Art in Culture Magazine, and Art and People Magazine. Additionally, his work has been featured in the publication Artist Profiles of Korea and Japan.
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Janet M. Schneider
Artist, curator and arts administrator, Janet M. Schneider lives in Flushing and East Hampton with her husband, Michael F. Sperendi. Janet has been active as a curator for The Queens Museum and various other organizations and served as Executive Director of the Queens Museum from 1977 to 1989.
She is a summa cum laude graduate of Queens College, with a major in Fine Arts, and completed special study in Fine Arts at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. Her work has also been included in various group shows in the New York City Area. She joined the Prince Street Gallery in 1973 and held solo exhibitions there in 1974, 1976 and 1981.
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Changgyoo Lim
Changgyoo Lim is a Director of the News Department at K-Radio, AM1660. He was a news reporter at Kyounggi-do, South Korea. Besides his career in the News Media field, he has a deep passion in the field of arts, especially in theater and performance.
He was an actor, stage director, and production manager in many plays and festivals including the World Outdoor Festival and the World Passage Ritual Festival while he was in Korea. He was a member of the Korean actors' group - Gillajai (길라잡이), Kumsijo (금시조), and Opera stage Shin (오페라무대 신). He continued performing several plays as an actor and a director after immigrated to New York. His latest directed Korean Pansori epic chant performance took place at Carnegie Hall in 2018.