Astoria Artist Brings Brazilian Textiles To LaGuardia Airport

EAST ELMHURST, QUEENS — Astoria-based artist Davi Leventhal is creating his latest work in an unlikely studio space: LaGuardia Airport.

The artist this week began a three-month residency at LaGuardia's Terminal A, where he will teach visitors how to make the Brazilian fabric flowers known as fuxicos.

Fuxicos (pronounced foo-SHEEH-kohs) are made from remnants of fabric and are used to decorate pillows or sewn together to make a quilt, according to Leventhal, who was born in Brazil.

The name comes from the Portuguese word fuxicar, meaning "to gossip."

Leventhal's residency is part of the second iteration of the Queens Council on the Arts' ArtPort Residency Program, which gives artists a $6,500 stipend and a dedicated 110-square-foot space in Terminal A to create a new work and engage travelers in the process.

He will be in the space at least 12 hours each week, with his exact hours each week posted in an online schedule.

"This residency is an excellent chance to both celebrate my heritage and make new connections with people and my community," Leventhal said in a statement.

Leventhal most recently highlighted the Brazilian craft in an exhibition at Plaxall Gallery in Long Island City, which examined fuxico-making in Rio de Janeiro and Leventhal's family history and personal ties to the fuxico.