Since 2008, Queens Crossing Mall in conjunction with Crossing Art have teamed together to present an outdoor-public art project to celebrate the holiday season. Over the years, it has become a tradition to kick off the Christmas season with the lighting of the installation and the Queens Crossing Christmas tree. This year, Queens Crossing and Crossing Art are proud to present a sculpture by artist Leon Reid IV, titled “The Gift”. On Wednesday, December 10, Queens Crossing and Crossing Art will illuminate the installation and afterwards will invite K-pop singer Dong Hyung Lee, winners from Supernova Chinese American Danniew Li & Jason Kao, Chorus of Flushing Union Bible Church, Miss New York Teen and Miss Chinese Cosmo to perform. Queens Boro President, Melinda Katz, and many local politicians will join the lighting ceremony as well.

“The Gift” is a temporary sculpture designed by Leon Reid IV. The work is a geometric play on the traditional gift box. The gift, with its varying perspectives, serves as a metaphor to encourage the viewer to think about the act of giving, which is synonymous with the holiday season. We wish to inspire community connections this winter and invite passersby to use this sculpture as a way to share the warmth of the holiday season with friends and families.

In addition to giving physical gifts this year, the artist and Crossing, encourage the community to give the gift of time, compassion and love to family, friends, and strangers. In our busy world, full of technology, it is easy to simultaneously connect and disconnect with those around us. Queens Crossing wishes to inspire community connections this winter and invites passersby to use this sculpture as a way to share the warmth of the holiday season with friends and followers. Visitors are encouraged to take pictures with the installation, tag them on Facebook and post them on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #QueensCrossing. By sharing “The Gift” viewers can provide friends and followers with the light and warmth of the holiday season.

Leon Reid IV is a public artist based in . He has created numerous public art installations in and around and was recently listed as one of the “60 Innovators Shaping Our Creative Future” by publisher Thames & Hudson. ‘)}