ArtPort Kingston has invited artists, designers, makers, and thinkers to submit flag designs for our new Flagpole Project. Launched in Spring 2025, the Project has been raising one original artist-made flag per month above ArtYard Kingston at 80 Smith Ave throughout 2025. Each new flag, raised in a communal ceremony, offers an opportunity to rethink the meaning and role of flags in contemporary society.

A flag is a powerful symbol–a human invention that serves both as a form of communication and a symbol of beauty, devotion, and reverence. As symbols of both unity and division, oneness and diversity, flags can evoke strong emotions, rally communities, and communicate ideas across vast distances. Historically, flags have represented nations, ideologies, and movements, but what do they mean to us now? How has their significance evolved? How might it continue to evolve over time? 

Run as an open-call, the program seeks designs and flag-like artworks that explore the potential of the flag as a means of communication at this present moment. Applicants were asked to respond to a number of prompts, including: How can the format be reinvented as a tool for connection rather than division? How can a flag transcend traditional symbols of territory, ownership, and conflict? Can a flag be used to unify diverse ideas, communities, and cultures? 

Stay tuned for the next opening of the Flagpole Project with an original flag design by invisiblehand press (@invisible_hand), and will be followed by the hoisting of a new flag per month throughout the year. Invisiblehand Press makes prints, books, and objects for ritual and ceremony. This spell, the second in an infinite series, was printed on paper with a vandercook 219 and wood type, by Lilah Friedland and Polina Malikin in 2024. 

Follow @artportkingston on IG for more updates, and look out for future open-call opportunities to submit your flag design.

March 1, 2025, 2-5pm – ArtYard Kingston

80 Smith Ave, Kingston

Flag Pole Project

Flying Artist Flags Over the City of Kingston

ArtPort Kingston has invited artists, designers, makers, and thinkers to submit flag designs for our new Flag Pole Project. Launching in Spring 2025, the Project will raise one original artist-made flag per month above ArtYard Kingston at 80 Smith Ave throughout 2025. Each new flag, raised in a communal ceremony, offers an opportunity to rethink the meaning and role of flags in contemporary society.

A flag is a powerful symbol–a human invention that serves both as a form of communication and a symbol of beauty, devotion, and reverence. As symbols of both unity and division, oneness and diversity, flags can evoke strong emotions, rally communities, and communicate ideas across vast distances. Historically, flags have represented nations, ideologies, and movements, but what do they mean to us now? How has their significance evolved? How might it continue to evolve over time?

Run as an open-call, the program seeks designs and flag-like artworks that explore the potential of the flag as a means of communication at this present moment. Applicants were asked to respond to a number of prompts, including: How can the format be reinvented as a tool for connection rather than division? How can a flag transcend traditional symbols of territory, ownership, and conflict? Can a flag be used to unify diverse ideas, communities, and cultures?

Follow @artportkingston on IG for more updates, and look out for future open-call opportunities to submit your flag design.

24/7 Gallery

80 Smith Ave, Kingston, NY

info@artportkingston.org

In times of chaos and uncertainty, Art needs to be present and available all the time for us to find comfort, confidence, distraction, beauty and sanity. We created a way to offer Art for you to see/ experience on your own time schedule, anytime. 24/7 every day there will be Art to see and we like you to become a part of a discussion and leave your feedback at our new project we are proudly calling 24/7 Gallery. The space, transformed from a small, three-walled glass storefront into a continuous platform for artistic expression, is on view to the public 365 days a year, except installation days. Although locked for safety, it offers a window into a world of contemporary art, where local, national, and international artists can experiment with the gallery’s unconventional format. We hope to foster a space that encourages curiosity, dialogue, and connection, where people can engage with art in a way that feels spontaneous and accessible. We aim to bring a bit of color and surprise to midtown Kingston, making this neighborhood feel more vibrant, engaging, and groovy. The beauty of this format is that art is no longer confined to a traditional space with specific hours—here, it’s always present, always accessible, and always engaging.

The gallery will host a rotating selection of installations, exhibitions and events—always free and open for anyone to experience from the street. Whether it’s a single artwork, a full installation, or a collaboration between multiple artists, 24/7 Gallery is intended to be a constantly evolving experience.

Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare to open the gallery, and get ready to see Kingston’s streets through a fresh, colorful lens. We can’t wait to welcome you to 24/7 Gallery, where art never sleeps!

ArtBuoy Kingston

Local artist and educator, David Held presents "Repurcussions: Cross Examinations" an audio-visual installation that "details the unconscious methods of speech mechanics in an attempt to bring to the conscious the complexities of what we say."

Fragments of words are altered into rhythmic sequences.
Male and female voices become instruments outside of the cohesion of language.

A system of 8 speakers sweeps voices around the room creating a pulsating architecture of sound.

The imagery on the screen reflects the American flag, blowing in the wind, intercut with flashes of color and moments of protest.

The composition posits the question: "Where is the end of speaking and the beginning of understanding?"

"Taken together, this work is intended to create not an atmosphere of debate (from the Latin de battuere, "to beat down") rather to create an atmosphere of discussion (L. discutere, "to investigate”).”

The artist is hosting two open-to-the-public presentations of the work, first on Saturday, May 6th, and on the following Saturday, May 13th.

The installation is temporarily on display at ArtBuoy Kingston, a pop-up gallery and event space run by ArtPort Kingston, located at 274 E Strand, Kingston NY 12401.

This project was made possible by an Individual Artist Grant from Arts Mid-Hudson.

Follow the FB EVENT for updates.

ArtBuoy Kingston

Local artist and educator, David Held presents "Repurcussions: Cross Examinations" an audio-visual installation that "details the unconscious methods of speech mechanics in an attempt to bring to the conscious the complexities of what we say."

Fragments of words are altered into rhythmic sequences.
Male and female voices become instruments outside of the cohesion of language.

A system of 8 speakers sweeps voices around the room creating a pulsating architecture of sound.

The imagery on the screen reflects the American flag, blowing in the wind, intercut with flashes of color and moments of protest.

The composition posits the question: "Where is the end of speaking and the beginning of understanding?"

"Taken together, this work is intended to create not an atmosphere of debate (from the Latin de battuere, "to beat down") rather to create an atmosphere of discussion (L. discutere, "to investigate”).”

The artist is hosting two open-to-the-public presentations of the work, first on Saturday, May 6th, and on the following Saturday, May 13th.

The installation is temporarily on display at ArtBuoy Kingston, a pop-up gallery and event space run by ArtPort Kingston, located at 274 E Strand, Kingston NY 12401.

This project was made possible by an Individual Artist Grant from Arts Mid-Hudson.

Follow the FB EVENT for updates.