Creating Opportunities for Artists in the Neighborhood: A Conversation with Karesia Batan

February 22, 2024byAmy Aronoff

Image Detail: 2022 Pamayanan Filipino Cultural Event produced by Karesia Batan, Photo Credit: Kyle Lui

Dancer, choreographer, and cultural producer Karesia Batan talks about advocating for equitable funding for Queens artists and why advocacy empowers artists.

A Queens artist who founded Queensboro Dance Festival to foster easier artist access to a dance community within Queens, Karesia Batan talks about her work serving as a voice for the arts and culture community in the local Community Board and how artists can empower themselves through advocacy.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): You started your career as a dancer and choreographer. What motivated you to found Queensboro Dance Festival (QDF) and work as a cultural producer?

Karesia Batan (KB): As a Queens resident, I was pursuing a freelance dance career and realized that all the information out there for dancers—where to audition, rehearse, take class, see shows, find a dance community—was telling us to go to Manhattan or Brooklyn. I kept having to leave Queens for any sense of dance community or validation of a dance career in NYC. I felt like we were missing something; Queens is the biggest and most diverse borough. There had to be dancers here and we just don’t know where the local community is, or where our local dance resources or jobs were.

So I started the festival in 2014 to meet and learn about the Queens dance community, and to have a place where we could all be together. It’s been so exciting and beautiful to see the unique diversity of Queens expressed through the many dance forms that exist here, and we continue to seek out more Queens dance groups of all cultures and techniques.

I also saw there was a lack of investment in cultivating a Queens audience, and I wanted our dance community to better connect with local audiences; essentially, their neighbors. As we perform throughout different neighborhoods and cultural pockets of Queens, we inherently reflect the immigrant populations that live here. It’s such a magical and powerful way to connect with audiences; sharing this cultural connection while also encouraging cultural exchange and appreciation. Dance is the most joyful way to celebrate this.

As we perform throughout different neighborhoods and cultural pockets of Queens, we inherently reflect the immigrant populations that live here. It’s such a magical and powerful way to connect with audiences; sharing this cultural connection while also encouraging cultural exchange and appreciation. Dance is the most joyful way to celebrate this.
Karesia Batan

NYFA: You also serve as the Chair of the Arts & Culture Committee on Queens Community Board 2. What does that role look like, and how do you utilize it to advocate for individual artists and cultural works in your neighborhood?

KB: Our district (LIC, Sunnyside, Woodside, a bit of Maspeth) has a large, historical population of artists, cultural organizations, and artisans, and it’s so important that they have representation in civic engagement. The committee serves as a voice for the arts and culture community here, to raise any issues that local elected officials need to be aware of, and to help connect artists to relevant city services or programs, such as Department of Transportation (DOT) or Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) artist calls, teaching or funding opportunities with Department of Education (DOE), Cultural Institution Groups (CIGs), schools, parks, or libraries.

We want to be a resource of information and also be a place where artists in our district can learn about one another’s work. We bring in guest presenters every month on these various topics, as well as discuss as a group any ongoing issues or announcements. These meetings are open to the public, so it’s nice to keep meeting more neighbors. In our district, the arts and culture committee is related to land use here, aka real estate development projects, and we are constantly advocating for the preservation of artist space and more public art by local artists.

We work with various entities here to try and keep arts and culture alive. I strongly believe in the power of community, and want to strongly encourage more artists to get more civically engaged. Attend your local community board meeting (it’s free) and get to know the inner workings of your neighborhood, your elected officials, your neighborhood advocates. Community Board applications also open every year, there’s no prerequisite other than being a resident. It’s a simple way to be heard and also learn deeply how city government decisions affect our lives as artists, particularly regarding funding. The arts and culture sector is not in a silo; it is interwoven across other sectors and so when one area is affected, we get affected, for better or for worse.

The arts and culture sector is not in a silo; it is interwoven across other sectors and so when one area is affected, we get affected, for better or for worse.
Karesia Batan

A dancer raises their arms towards the sky, in conversation with a sculpture behind them on the Queens, NY waterfront. — Image Detail: 2021 “Floating Woman Sculpture” closing event, Photo Courtesy Karesia Batan

NYFA: In your view, what are some of the most common challenges artists encounter when it comes to sustaining their career in NYC? What is your advice to artists facing these issues?

KB: Challenges are always cost of rent and the lack of accessible, equitable funding for artist workers, and any progress toward that has been slow. Artists work so hard to both create art, and make ends meet at the same time. Artists are the soul of this city and yet are generally taken for granted. Independent artists, BIPOC and immigrant artists, and artists with disabilities have even further inequitable access to funding. It’s hard when the common challenges are the system and everyone’s just trying their best to survive it.

I think many of us are doing this already, but I would say, lean into your local artist community and network for resources that can support your career pursuits. We have to be proactive and creative about it, to find our connections or niches. The other thing I would say is to try to be part of a solution; get involved in advocacy and vote if you can. To be honest, it seems more fitting to request that our society improve at valuing public art, hiring local artists, and supporting local artists’ works.

NYFA: What’s upcoming at QDF?

KB: Our summer tour kicks off this year on June 8and lasts until September 15! We tour free and outdoor performances, classes and parties across Queens, featuring a diverse lineup of Queens dance groups. The call for Queens dance groups is open now through March 11, and we’ll announce the entire event schedule in April. In the meantime, we have popup events. Follow us on Instagram for announcements or check out www.queensborodancefestival.org for more!

About Karesia Batan
Karesia Batan is a Queens-based dancer and producer. She has danced for companies including Beth Soll & Co., Abby Bender/Schmantze Theatre, Anne Zuerner, EmmaGrace Skove-Epes, VESSEL, Neville Dance, and Nancy Meehan, as well as collaborated with various film and visual artists. Batan’s choreography has been presented throughout NYC including BAM, Dixon Place, HERE Arts Center, Northside Townhall, Triskelion Arts, WAH Center, Theaterlab, Secret Theater, Gibney Dance, and CultureLab LIC. Most recently, her works are focused on sharing traditional Filipino folk dances. She is Founding Executive Director of the Queensboro Dance Festival, and is a city-recognized advocate for equitable funding for Queens artists and accessible cultural programming in outdoor public space. She also currently dances for choreographer Craig Hoke Zarah.