Seven photographers are asking what it means to be American today in Portraits of America, a group photography exhibition at Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Boulevard. The show runs through Tuesday, Nov. 10, with an art workshop this Sunday, Oct. 25, and a closing reception and panel discussion on its last day.

What the show is

The exhibition gathers portraits of people from different generations, communities, cultural backgrounds and family histories. Rather than settle on one image of an American, it presents many faces side by side and treats American identity as something shaped by migration and ancestry, memory and family, and where and how people live. Flushing Town Hall notes that it is presenting the show in Queens, a borough formed by generations of migration.

The exhibiting photographers are Andreas Rentsch, Eva Mallis, Gina Minielli, Gus Philippas, Jim Richards, Tony Gonzalez and Zachary Schulman.

Who curated it

The curator is Stephanie S. Lee, a Queens visual artist and educator who founded The Garage Art Center, a community arts nonprofit in Bayside.

Dates to know

  • Sunday, Oct. 25, 2 to 3:30 p.m.: an art workshop led by the artist André Knights, tied to the exhibition. It is ticketed through Flushing Town Hall.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5 to 7 p.m.: closing reception.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6 to 7 p.m.: a panel, Framing America: Portraiture, Identity, and Belonging, with four of the photographers, Gina Minielli, Jim Richards, Tony Gonzalez and Zachary Schulman, moderated by Lee and followed by audience questions. RSVP on Flushing Town Hall's site.

Two of the photographers

Gina Minielli is a lifelong Queens resident who was chief photographer for the New York Mets and first assistant to the portrait photographer Arnold Newman, according to Flushing Town Hall. She teaches at Queens College, Queensborough Community College and Molloy.

Jim Richards makes his portraits with a straw camera, a wooden box holding about 4,000 straws that breaks up the image of the person being photographed, according to Flushing Town Hall.

Getting there

Flushing Town Hall is on Northern Boulevard at Linden Place. The 7 train's last stop, Flushing-Main Street, is a short walk away, and the Long Island Rail Road's Flushing-Main Street station is close by. For gallery hours or questions, call (718) 463-7700, extension 222.

Portraits of America is on view at Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Boulevard, through Nov. 10. Book the Oct. 25 workshop or RSVP for the Nov. 10 panel on Flushing Town Hall's website.

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