Queens was an epicenter of jazz in the 1940s. Such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald found refuge from segregation in the mixed communities of the borough, while a younger generation, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and others,were developing bebop in the clubs of Harlem.Western Queens is becoming an artistic hub, including Sculpture Center, the Flux Factory, the Noguchi Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, Fisher Landau Center, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs , and the Museum of the Moving Image. The P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in the neighborhood of Long Island City is one of the largest and oldest institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. In addition to its renowned exhibitions, the institution also organizes the prestigious International and National Projects series, the Warm Up summer music series, and the Young Architects Program with The Museum of Modern Art. The current poet laureate of Queens is Ishle Yi Park.
Queens is home to many other cultural institutions, including among others:
* Queens Museum of Art
* Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL)
* Jamaica Performing Arts Center
* Bowne House
* King Manor
* Kupferberg Center for the Arts
* New York Hall of Science
* Noguchi Museum
* Queens Botanical Garden
* Queens Theatre in the Park
* Flushing Town HallHome of jazz in Queens
* Thalia Spanish Theater
Queens was the setting for path breaking 1970s sitcom, All in the Family. It is featured in the Spider-Man comics and films as the home of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. On Ugly Betty it is also home to Betty and her family. TV shows shot in Queens include Sesame Street (at Kaufman Astoria Studios) and 30 Rock (at Silvercup Studios, although the show's fictional setting is across the East River in Manhattan). The two studios have also served as the site for many movies, music videos and commercials.
