By Sally Deering

More than 800 artists will exhibit their work in the upcoming 25^th annual Jersey City Art & Studio Tour happening Sat & Sun, Oct 3 & 4, from noon to 6 pm.  More than a hundred studios, galleries, businesses, public spaces and art pop-ups will be exhibiting paintings, sculpture, mixed-media, and art installations..

The Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (formerly known as the Artists†Studio Tour) began 25 years ago when a local newspaper joined forces with several Jersey City artists. What started as a tour of 50 or so studios and public art exhibitions with opening night parties of Blimpie sandwiches and jugs of Gallo – has become a huge city-wide event sponsored by the city of Jersey City.

“This yearâ€s tour has grown to include 220 stops throughout Jersey City at galleries, exhibition spaces, and murals, showcasing the vibrant cultural landscape that is Jersey City,” Mayor Steven M. Fulop states on the official JCAST Tour Map. “Jersey Cityâ€s cultural scene continues to expand and diversify. Support our local artists by visiting their exhibits and purchasing their work, and engage with your neighbors during one of the biggest annual art events in the region.”

This year, the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour kicks off Fri, Oct. 2^nd at 6 pm with an opening reception at the Lackawanna Center on 16^th Street near the Holland Tunnel entrance in Jersey City. The Lackawanna Center will also be the site for two group shows: HISTORIC JERSEY CITY curated by Trix Rosen; and THREE SOULS IN THE CITY featuring works by artists Peter S. Bill, Gregory Stone and Fermin Mendoza. There are several other group shows on the tour including one at 150 Bay Street in Jersey City.

If youâ€re considering driving to Jersey City and parking your car, you might want to reconsider and take public transportation. City Hall in Jersey City has been designated the official take-off for free shuttle buses that will drive tour-goers on three separate routes throughout the city.

A bike tour to view the 50 murals in the Jersey City Mural project will also be leaving from City Hall. Visit the Studio Tourâ€s website for more information and to download a map of the Studio Tour.

 ARTISTS UNITE

HISTORIC JERSEY CITY, a group show will be on view at the Lackawanna Center curated by fine art photographer Trix Rosen, who also works as a historic preservation architectural photographer.

The exhibition features paintings, drawings, watercolors, photographs, historic maps, antique documents, mixed media collage and sculpture by artists Beth Bentley, Peter Delman, Ed Fausty, Sasha Greco & Garry Taylor, E. Jan Kounitz, Beatrice Mady, Andrea Rafael, Trix Rosen, Richard La Rovere, Steve Singer, Julie Sloane, Charlie Steiner and Leona Strassberg Steiner.

“As seen through the eyes of renowned local artists, the exhibition ‘HISTORIC JERSEY CITY†will feature historic sites, artifacts and relics that exist or have existed in Jersey City,” Rosen says. “Included are a selection of large photographic prints by Ed Fausty from ‘A Fragile Utopia: Studios and Spaces at 111 First Street†and watercolors by Steve Singer that address issues of gentrification, economic development and artists†housing.”

Photographs by local teenagers, Brandon Ambrossi, Nathan Balcos, Paloma Edgar and Nilay Vora, who documented the historic Jersey City Reservoir #3 for a digital storytelling workshop taught by Rosen in 2013 will also be on view.

“I put together this exhibition for the JC Art & Studio Tour to show my respect for the folks who cared enough to document and create art about the significance of where they live,” Rosen says. “I also want to reflect on endangered historic sites, the legacy of our builders and our cultural heritage,”

 (Photo of Brennan Court House Rotunda by Beatrice Mady in the Historic Jersey City group show)

BIKE TO THE ART

 (Mural at Ocean & Oak St. by Fermin Mendoza can be seen on the bike tour)

Ride your bike to see highlights of the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour on free bike tours by community bike advocacy group Bike JC. All tours will include fly-by viewings of many of Jersey Cityâ€s growing collection of street-art murals by artists including Paws, Sue One, Joe Waks and Fermin Mendoza.

On Sat, Oct. 3, there will be one long tour hitting the biggest group shows, and two shorter tours covering the southern and northern halves of the tour. Bike JCâ€s focus will be on venues that are less accessible to casual strollers and better by bike. Tours will be led by experienced bike marshals. And if you donâ€t own a bike, Citi Bike JC has bike stations throughout Jersey City which can be rented by the day.

To join the bike tours, just show up on the plaza outside Grove Street PATH station at least 15 minutes before the start of the tour you want to ride: Long Route: 12 noon-5 pm; North Short Route: 1–3:30 pm. South Short Route: 3–5:30 pm. First come, first served—each tour will be capped at 30 riders! All tours will return riders to Grove PATH (or you can break away anywhere along the way). You must bring and wear a helmet.

DOWNLOAD THE MAP AND HAVE FUN

Get your official Jersey City Art & Studio Tour map in the City Hall vestibule at 280 Grove Street or stop by any of the participating venues for a free copy. You can also download a map at www.thejcast.com.

The Jersey City Art & Studio tour has become a beloved citywide tradition and a great way for local residents and visitors to support Hudsonâ€s art community

For more info

Sat & Sun, Oct. 3 & 4, 12 noon – 6 pm

Jersey City Art & Studio Tour

City of Jersey City

Office of Cultural Affairs

280 Grove Street, JC

www.thejcast.com

Email: jcast@jcnj.org

The post ART IN THE CITY-Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (JCAST) opens Doors Hundreds of Artists to present their Works first appeared on River View Observer.

Grace Church Van Vorst celebrates Art and Community

 By Sally Deering

Back in the late 1980s and early 90s, many considered downtown Jersey City a tough and gritty place for off-the-grid artists and blue-collar workers. It was during that time Grace Church Van Vorst, an Episcopalian parish in downtown Jersey City opened its big red doors on Erie Street, and welcomed local residents, many of them artists, to participate in the Cathedral Arts Festival.

On Sat, April 18, Grace Churchâ€s big red

doors will open once again, this time for the 25^th anniversary of the Cathedral Arts Festival beckoning local residents and friends to once again enjoy a gala of art, entertainment, food and drink. Under the leadership of Reverend Laurie Jean Wurm and congregants Bayla Kallstrom as chairwoman, Amy Elise as head art curator and other dedicated artists and residents, the Cathedral Arts Festival will once again bridge art and community in this neighborhood parish.

“The artist community has a long relationship with Grace Church Van Vorst, a lot of parishioners are artists, one gentleman has his own reggae band,” Rev. Wurm says. “Art is essential to how Grace Church is known in downtown Jersey City. Thatâ€s one thing Grace has always embraced.”

The April 18^th gala will feature refreshments from area restaurants, an open champagne bar, music, dancing, a silent auction and a special performance by members of Nimbus Dance Works of Jersey City. Sixty-five artists will be exhibiting and selling their works with a percentage of each sale going to Grace Churchâ€s special programs like the Grace Senior Center for Healthy Living, and Graceâ€s Breakfast Plus program which provides weekend meals to hungry and homeless people in Jersey City.

“Art is vital to the life of the church,” Reverend Wurm says. “It can be beautiful and unifying. One of the things I love is when the paintings are hung up in the church. For me itâ€s a way to see whatâ€s going on around the world.  Bringing struggles, triumphs and joys that come with paintings and objects of art, and putting them in a sacred setting allows us to see the world in a sacred way.”

COMMUNITY & ART

Chairwoman of the curating committee, Amy Elise, has been a Grace Church congregant since 2008 right after she moved to Jersey City.

“The first time I walked through the doors, I saw art on the walls,” Elise says. “The sanctuary was an incredible space and the service was beautiful. Thereâ€s this creative energy in the church that immediately embraced me. I wanted to be involved.”

Artists from Jersey City and other towns like Newark, Morristown and New York City will be exhibiting their works chosen by Elise and four area curators – Farah Nuradeen (Greenville); Meghan McKee (the Heights); Andrea Artemis Morin (downtown); and Joe Velez (Union City). They picked artists whose work reflects the vibrancy and diversity of Jersey City.

“Jersey City is gentrifying, especially downtown, and that has to be represented because thatâ€s part of our reality,” Elise says. “We also wanted the gritty aspects of Jersey City to be represented in the art. The neighborhood that Grace Church is in currently used to have a different feel. We wanted to respect the artists who are in the downtown neighborhood now and the artists and arts that would have been in the neighborhood 25 years ago.”

 Artists exhibiting at the  25^th Cathedral Arts Festival are Beth Achenbach, Seth Alexander, Paul Andress, Ray Arcadio, Howard Berelson, Miguel Cardenas, Thomas John Carlson, Miroslaw Chelchowski, Jerome China, stephen cimini, Lisa Collodoro, Liz Defrain, Peter Delman, Martin Ramone Delossantos, Dave Dziemian, Dylan Egon, Thomas Egan, Ben Faresich, Eileen Ferara, Mark Finne, Julia Forrest, Geraldine Anderson Gaines, David Gazzo, Jamaila Hernandez, Miguel Hernández, Kayt Hester, Ann Hjelle, Lina Hsiao, Christine Johanns, Norman Kirby, Kortez, Lex Leonard, Béatrice Lebreton, Tatiana Lopez, Beatrice Mady, Julie McHargue, Meghan McKee, Andrea McKenna, Michael F. McKenna, Kathryn Mecca, Rajendra Mehta, Fermin Mendoza, Volha Mikhnevich, Andrea Artemis Morin, Ibou Ndoye, Amy Neufeld, JoanMarie Palmer, Diane Revels, Orlando Reyes, Vira Rublevska, Angelo Rusciano, Monique Sarfity, Lucille Scurti, Anthony Sienkiewicz, Elsie Sienkiewicz, Panda Suwann, Marianne Trent, Janna Maria Vallee, Herman Velez, Joe Velez, Diane Whitebay, M. H. Yaghooti, William Zbylut, and O_O.

Local Jersey City businesses have always been big supporters of the Cathedral Arts Festival and this yearâ€s sponsors include Shoprite – Inserra Supermarkets, Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Capital One Bank and PNC Bank. Some of Jersey Cityâ€s most popular restaurants are participating like GPâ€s Restaurant in Hamilton Square, The Hamilton Inn, The Bistro at Grove Square, Rustique Pizzeria, Gypsy Grill and Tommy2Scoops. The Festival will also have Le Bouquiniste, a mobile art kiosk from Curious Matter, and a live interactive weaving skill-share by relational artist Janna Maria Vallee.

The Cathedral Arts Festival is meant to bring new people into the Grace Church community, Elise says. And with Bayla Kallstrom as chairwoman, everyone is benefiting from her wisdom of what things were like 25 years ago when she and then curator artist Charles Kessler knocked on doors inviting artists to participate.

“Our theme from the very beginning was community, creativity and diversity,” Kallstrom says. “We feel artistry is a universal language. Itâ€s very spiritual. Itâ€s like religion, it floats above. It contains many voices, viewpoints and can pull people together in a spiritual way. A lot of people who came to Grace Church werenâ€t Christians but wanted to be a part of our community and every human being is better when they are part of a community; where people gather to help people become the best they can be. Thatâ€s a committed community and thatâ€s always our goal.”

If you go:

Sat, Apr. 18, 7:30 pm-12 midnight

The 25^th Annual Cathedral Arts Festival Champagne Gala

39 Erie St. (Downtown) JC

Admission:  $40 in advance; $50 at the door.

For tix:  www.gracevanvorst.org

For more info:  (201) 659-2211

 

The post 25th Cathedral Arts Festival to be held Apr. 18th in Downtown Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.

Metropolitan-area Photographers Spotlight Womenâ€s Strength and Hudson County Dignitaries Honor Women who make a Difference

Feeling rather guilty for not remembering March is Womenâ€s History Month, I began to think about all the great women I have admired. Then I realized, Womenâ€s History Month is not just about thinking nice thoughts about Eleanor Roosevelt (whom I greatly admire); itâ€s about honoring women everywhere who are out there every day contributing to the fabric of our society.

The Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, which hosts 14 arts events a year in the Brennan Gallery at the William J. Brennan Court House in Jersey City, is presenting an exhibit to remind us of the importance of Womenâ€s History Month. Meredith Lippman and Eileen Gaughan of the Cultural Affairs office curated an exhibit of 38 photographs for “In her Strength,” an exhibit by 24 photographers that illustrate womenâ€s courage, energy, tenacity and fortitude. The photos shows women in reflection, with their families, marching for equality, rock climbing, boxing and participating in all sorts of activities. Each of the photos holds a special meaning to the artist which is evident in these candid photos of women in both private and public moments.

“The amazing qualities that women possess often go unnoticed,” Lippman says. “The photographers have captured images of women from around the globe and across ethnic and racial boundaries.”

Artists featured in the exhibit are Heidi Sussman, Gloria Bernard, Tamarra Mohapatra, Debbie Guedalia, Gwen Charles, Tamara Fitzpatrick, Sharon Harvey, Beatrice Mady, Monica Holder, Mildred Kerr, Noncy Ori, Melida Rodas, Kaitlyn Chow, Leona Seufert, India Blake, Roberta Smith, Heidi Sussman, Trang Tran, Kat Wolfe, Mary Pugh Clark, Faruz Ugdah, Lydia Frank, Roslyn Rose and Heather Kurdyla. Many of the artists are professionals and some are on their way, like Heather Kurdyla, 22, of Kearny, a photography major at New Jersey City University. Kurdylaâ€s images are photographs of photos of her great-grandmother Josephine Perna juxtaposed on things she once owned.

“I found some of her belongings and these old photos of her and I wanted to document her life through her belongings,” Kurdyla says. “She was born in 1911 and I thought about all the things she lived through. I was very close to her.”

For 20 years, Robyn Rose of Hoboken was a professional printmaker and used etchings in a lot of her work. She became more involved in photography, doing Polaroid transfers and then started working with Photoshop. Her photograph, “The Suffragettes,” incorporates vintage images of Suffragettes in a time in womenâ€s history that has had a resounding affect on Rose as an artist.

“The Suffragette piece has some personal connection to me,” Rose says. “My sister lives in the Rochester area and weâ€ve gone to historical spots there where there were Suffragette meetings, protests and jailings. Iâ€ve been an ardent feminist since the 70s.”

Debbie Guedaliaâ€s two images in “In her Strength” include a photograph titled “The Bridge,” and “Letter to my Children.” Both works use photography to translate her personal psychological landscape, Guedalia says. “Letter to my Children†is a visual diary of her trip to Poland in August 2010. It contains thirteen color triptychs (three images placed next to each other to create one image) taken over six days of traveling. The triptychs attempt to map out the present-past-present visual world that hides beneath the surface of the landscapes of Krakow, Warsaw, Lubin, Aushwitz-Birkenau, Madjanek, Plaszow and the Lepudowo forest in Poland, she says. They also represent three generations of her family photographed in the memories of those environments and time-frame.

“I created a narrative space that never actually happened, but that the camera has recorded,” Guedalia says. “The image ‘The Bridge†was photographed in Krakow on the bridge that overlooks the Vistula River. All three images contain archival photographs: a sign in Krakow that reads: ‘Jews Forbidden Entryâ€; our guide holding up a book containing a picture of the bridge on which we were standing; and a third image of a girl on the bridge carrying a chair that must be a family heirloom during the evacuation of the Jews. I created these works in an attempt to understand what happened over sixty years ago; and yet, today I still find incomprehensible.”

Feminism abounds in the photographs featured in the “In her Strength” show, which runs through March 25th. Women photographers ranging in age from early 20s to early 90s are represented and the exhibit is a great way to introduce your budding feminists to women who have made a difference.

Our History is Our Strength

Once a year, Hudson County rolls out the red carpet to pay tribute to local women who make an amazing contribution to the quality of life here in Hudson. This yearâ€s program is called “Our History is our Strength” and will spotlight local activists who are usually behind the scenes. It will be held on Tuesday, March 22 at 6:30 pm, in the Theodore Conrad Rotunda and is dedicated to the memory of the late Honorable Shirley Tolentino, JSC, who served on the bench in the Justice William Brennan Court House.
Twenty-five women will be honored for their community service, commitment to social activism and contribution to the quality-of life of all the people who make this side of the Hudson their home. They are: Bernice Lord, senior citizen activist; Cathy Macchi of the Hudson County Office on Aging; Maureen Walliser of Hudson County Enterprises; Rosalyn A. Browne, community activist; Monique Smith-Andrews, community activist for women cancer survivors; Dr. Ofelia Garcia, community activist; Alfa Demmeliash, Executive Director of Rising Tides Capital; and Joan Rosen for career service to the Bayonne Public Schools.
Also being honored are Bali Macchio of the Windmill Alliance; Christina Ellis, Educator, Holy Family Academy; Joyce Adams, health care activist; Netta Meltzer, community activist; Rose Gunther, community activist; Eleanor Mueller, activist for St. Josephâ€s School for the Blind; Jeanette Peña, Union City Educator ; Catharina S. Wolf of the Wrap 4 A Smile foundation; Dr. Madeline Zak, community activist; Rose Marie Evaristo, community activist; Jaclyn Cherubini, Director of the Hoboken Shelter; Shirley M. Dennis, community activist; Rosemary McFadden, Jersey City Deputy Mayor; Carol Kravitz, artist and teacher; Jennifer Cullen, community activist; Elaine Nicoliello, community activist; and Elizabeth Irmia-Ferrer, West New York educator.
The programâ€s MC will be Freeholder Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico, who also chairs the Womenâ€s History Month committee. The St. Dominick Academy Dominoes under the musical direction of Joseph Napoli will sing and special presentations will be given by Ana Tolentino, who will reflect on the influence her late mother had on her life and career; Alisa Reid, a student at P.S. No. 40 in Jersey City who will give a recitation on Sojourner Truth; and Dr. Carmela Karnoutsos, a retired Professor of History at New Jersey City University who will highlight the lives of local women leaders of the past.

“This is a way for us to honor the contribution women have made to the Hudson County community,” say Bill LaRosa, Director of Hudson County Cultural & Heritage Affairs. “Women are doing tremendous things here.”

The Brennan Gallery
Justice William Brennan Court House
583 Newark Avenue
Jersey City
201-459-2070
Contacts: Eileen Gaughan: egaughan@hcnj.us
Meredith Lippman: mlippman@hcnj.us

The post Women Take a Bow- In Her Strenght- Photography Exhibit Now to March 25th -Jersey City’s Brennan Court House first appeared on River View Observer.