News and Press Releases

For Immediate Release: August 8, 2025

Contact:
DCLA: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov

SCA: Kevin Ortiz, 718-472-8559, kortiz2@nycsca.org

DARU JUNG HYANG KIM CREATES AN ABSTRACT GARDEN BURSTING WITH COLOR IN ARTWORK COMMISSIONED BY DCLA’S PERCENT FOR ART PROGRAM WITH SCA’S PUBLIC ART FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Photos of Daru Jung Hyang Kim’s Artwork at P.S. 26 in Queens are Available Here

Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams by Daru Jung Hyang Kim. Photo by Ken Shung.

Queens, NY—The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), in partnership with the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), is delighted to announce a new artwork commission “Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams” by artist Daru Jung Hyang Kim. The artwork is a unique, permanent installation created specifically for the new P.S. 26 Addition in Queens, which will offer 399 seats to New York City elementary students. In line with Public Art for Public School’s mission, “Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams” seeks to create welcoming, inspiring experiences for students, families, faculty and community members.

The artwork was commissioned by DCLA’s Percent for Art program, in collaboration with SCA’s Public Art for Public Schools, and NYC Public Schools. It will join the more than 2,000 artworks in NYC Public Schools’ official art collection, which dates back to the late 1800s and features such esteemed artists as Romare Bearden, Donna Dennis, Jeffrey Gibson, Hans Hoffmann, Faith Ringgold, Sarah Sze and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

“Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams” consists of a painted collage that is digitally printed across five tall glass panels. Twenty textured, hand-painted and hand-blown glass disks float on top of the composition, adding depth and inviting a sense of tactility to the artwork. The artwork depicts circular forms in cheerful blues, reds, oranges and greens bubbling across an expanse of vibrant yellow. These are the artist’s fantastical interpretation of familiar forms in nature—abstracted flowers, seeds and sunbursts. Positioned along the back wall of the lobby, the artwork greets visitors as they first enter the school and can be observed from all angles as students pass through the corridor to the cafeteria.

Jung Hyang Kim took inspiration from P.S. 26’s strong connections to its surrounding green spaces, like Oak Grove and Cunningham Park. Her references to the plants and seeds one might find in these parks are also symbolic of the students’ dreams, ambitions, creativity, and emotional development throughout their primary education.

“Art in our public schools plants seeds of imagination, resilience, and ingenuity,” said NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “With ‘Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams,’ Daru Jung Hyang Kim has created a radiant work that mirrors the potential of every student who walks these halls. Through our Percent for Art program, we’re proud to bring vibrant public artwork like this to schools around the city, cultivating environments where creativity can flourish and inspire the next generation of thinkers, dreamers, and changemakers.”

“At the SCA, we understand that a school’s physical environment is essential to supporting student growth and success,” said President and CEO of the NYC School Construction Authority Nina Kubota. “’Sunbursts in the Garden’ of Dreams captures the spirit, imagination, and boundless potential of our students. It’s a vibrant example of how we strive to make our school buildings places that inspire learning—not just through architecture and design, but through the art that lives within them.”

“We are thrilled to welcome ‘Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams’ into our collection,” said Public Art for Public Schools Director Tania Duvergne. “Jung Hyang Kim’s unique visual language is exuberant and infectiously joyful. Her use of drawing, collage and various glass fabrication methods creates unexpected and effervescent moments for students to discover bit by bit over time.”

“Seeds are small but mighty,” said artist Daru Jung Hyang Kim. “They must travel long distances and be resilient to the elements in order to find new places to grow and blossom. They are full of potential and represent the hope we have for the future.”

Project Collaborators

Jung Hyang Kim’s artwork was fabricated by Derix Glasstudios. Additional expertise was provided by project architects di Domenico + Partners in conjunction with SCA.

 

About the Artist

Daru Jung Hyang Kim (b. 1955, Daegu City, South Korea; lives and works in New York, NY) is known for her collage and painted artworks that evoke patterns and forms found in the natural world. Her compositions often feature delicately rendered circular forms in diaphanous layers that accumulate like stars in a galaxy. Jung Hyang Kim has achieved notable recognition in the art world; she has exhibited at the Bronx Museum of Art, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts, and the Phillips Museum of Art, among others. She has received numerous public art commissions and her work is owned by major corporations, private collectors and museums. The commission at P.S. 26 Addition, Queens is Jung Hyang Kim’s first public artwork in a school setting.

###

About the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is dedicated to supporting and strengthening New York City’s vibrant cultural life. DCLA works to promote and advocate for quality arts programming and to articulate the contribution made by the cultural community to the City’s vitality. The Department represents and serves nonprofit cultural organizations involved in the visual, literary, and performing arts; public-oriented science and humanities institutions including zoos, botanical gardens, and historic and preservation societies; and creative artists at all skill levels who live and work within the City’s five boroughs. DCLA also provides donated materials for arts programs offered by the public schools and cultural and social service groups, and commissions permanent works of public art at City-funded construction projects throughout the five boroughs. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/culture.

About Public Art for Public Schools

Public Art for Public Schools (PAPS), a division of the New York City School Construction Authority, is the only program in the country dedicated exclusively to public art in pre-K – 12 schools. As stewards of New York City Public Schools’ public art collection, PAPS oversees more than 2,000 artworks, dating from the late 19^th century to the present, installed in schools throughout the five boroughs. PAPS preserves and celebrates this rich visual legacy through conservation, educational outreach and research. For newly constructed school buildings, the program commissions contemporary site-specific artworks that enhance learning environments, foster critical thinking, spark curiosity and inspire creativity. Together these initiatives offer students the joy and transformative potential of art as an essential part of their educational experience. For more information visit www.nycsca.org/publicartforpublicschools. 

About the NYC School Construction Authority

The School Construction Authority's (SCA) mission is to design and construct safe, attractive and environmentally sound public schools for children throughout the many communities of New York City. We are dedicated to building and modernizing schools in a responsible, cost-effective manner while achieving the highest standards of excellence in safety, quality and integrity. Established by the New York State Legislature in December 1988, the SCA has provided over 333,000 new school seats to New York City students, and protected, repaired and upgraded over 1,800 schools in over 1,400 school buildings with over 12,500 capital improvement projects. For more information visit www.nycsca.org and follow us on social media.