JC Street Gallery reaches 67 Murals and Counting

New Artist Mapping Website in 2016

 By Sally Deering

 High up on the 4^th floor of Jersey City Hall, the Office of Cultural Affairs lead by Director Elizabeth Cain looks out upon the city’s street life while it oversees the city’s cultural life and the programs that connect its communities beyond brick and mortar.

Cain took over the post in 2014 after working on Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop’s transition team. Prior to becoming the Cultural Affairs department head, Cain served as Executive Director for the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (HDSID) which sponsors popular community events like Groove on Grove and Everything Jersey City. She worked for developers Paul and Eric Silverman, whose Jersey City properties often include public spaces where local artists exhibit their work.

(Map of Jersey City Street Gallery murals

available online at www.jerseycityculture.org)

 

As Cultural Affairs Director, Cain has assisted with the Jersey City Murals Project (now called the Jersey City Street Gallery) and is currently facilitating a database for Jersey City performing and visual artists and arts groups. The office partners with other arts groups for the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour which celebrated its 26^th year last October; and it oversees the July 4th Freedom & Fireworks Festival; the Jersey City Mayor’s Christmas Concert at the Loew’s movie palace; a downtown Jersey City Food Festival; and a myriad of ethnic festivals held throughout Liberty State Park. The Cultural Affairs office also processes permits for filmmakers and special events, and promotes arts and community happenings on its website www.jerseycityculture.org.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Cain took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk with River View Observer (RVO) about life before and after becoming Director of Jersey City’s Cultural Affairs department; her office’s current projects and those planned for 2016.

RVO:  Where did you grow up and what schools did you attend?

EC: I grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts. I attended the University of Vermont and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.

RVO: What is your personal connection to the arts; did you take dance classes or study drama in college?

EC: I took ballet and tap up until I was 14. I was pre-med in college; and I was in a dance team.

 RVO:  What did you do after college?

EC: My whole adult life has been event-planning. As an event planner, you need to be creative, flexible and organized.

RVO:  As Director of Cultural Affairs, what are the responsibilities?

EC: I help support both artists and non-profits.I try to create an environment where people can create and flourish. When I first came on board I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a lot of work; a lot of off-hours work.

RVO: How successful was the 2015 Jersey City Art & Studio Tour?

EC: About 35,000 people attended; and there was a lot of art sold. We had 800 individual artists and 150 stops on the tour. We also extended the tour throughout the month of October. This way, if you missed it opening weekend, you could see it throughout the month. We had the Lackawanna Center as a public art space. The city worked with a private owner who was generous enough to give us the space; about 150 artists showed there.

RVO: How is the Jersey City Murals Project progressing?

EC:  The Jersey City Murals Project is now called the Jersey City Street Gallery and comes directly out of Mayor Fulop’s office. It’s funded through the Clean Communities Grant. It started as an anti-graffiti project, taking a graffiti-prone area and putting art on it, which gives you a clean slate. I have input, but Brook Hansen manages the project. It’s an ever-evolving process; and we have everything fully-documented. We made a website and a map of the murals’ locations. We’re now up to 67 murals. (Artists interested in submitting their ideas for murals can send queries to: [email protected].)

RVO: What is the new database your office is building?

EC:  We’re working on a new website for a project called Cultural Asset Mapping. We’re collecting all of the city’s cultural assets – public art, historic buildings, galleries, people – it’s a huge database. An ongoing project, the database will be available for people to look up artists, or if they want to see the list of galleries we have, they can click on that; or a restaurant that has live music, or historic sites. Those of us who live here know how amazing it is. Culture and cultural events support economic development; it all goes hand-in-hand.

RVO:  What do you hope to accomplish during your time as Cultural Affairs Director?

EC:  I feel like my mission here is to make government more accessible and to support people to create and express themselves. Culture is the heart and soul of a community. To support people in what they’re talented in, and give them the freedom to create, I love that.

RVO:  Anything else new for 2016?

EC:  We are doing Earth Day this year in April. We’re also expanding Summerfest. We have some new ideas. They’ll all be fun, I promise.

 

For more info

City of Jersey City

Office of Cultural Affairs

280 Grove Street, JC

www.jerseycityculture.org

(201) 547-6921