Utopia or Dystopia? Book Artists Respond to the World We Live In

by Ilene Dube, JerseyArts.com - published 2021-07-09

Simple Pleasures – it’s the brand of pink hand soap at the Hunterdon Art Museum, and also a recurring theme for those seeking to regain life post pause. On a recent summer day, young ones were experiencing the simple pleasures of returning to camp in a white tent alongside the Raritan River.

Fifty-one Years in the Making: Peters Valley Is Back

Enrolling in a workshop at Peters Valley School of Craft was like taking a journey back in time. You could have an immersion experience studying, say, blacksmithing, ceramics or weaving, living communally in the historic village of Bevans in Layton, N.J.

Jumping Across the Chasm -- Perkins Center for the Arts

An arts center – especially one with two locations – has a lot of moving parts. Perkins Center for the Arts is a perfect example. Just follow the link to the website, and the home page banner will provide a glimpse of what the art center offers. Education. Events. Exhibitions. Folklife Center. And those are just the bullet points.

On the Street and in the Studio with LNY

Layqa Nuna Yawar is an artist based in Newark, NJ, known internationally for his large-scale, community-based murals. His work often centers the complex narratives of BIPOC communities throughout the world. We recently visited Layqua in his studio to hear the tale of this multidisciplinary storyteller.

Operating Without Walls While Building Anew at Princeton University Art Museum

When museums that closed their doors during the pandemic re-open, the Princeton University Art Museum will not be among them. In 2018, the thriving institution announced that Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, in collaboration with executive architects Cooper Robertson, would be designing “a bold and welcoming new museum.”

A Hero for These Times - Camden Comic Con Goes Virtual

There's never been a better time for a superhero. Luckily, Camden Comic Con is here to save the day. Started at Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts in 2014, this celebration of all things graphic, illustrated, and heroic is going virtual this year due to the pandemic, but its powers remain strong. Jesse and Dave talk to some of the organizers behind this increasingly popular event to find out how this year's convention came together.

Chris Rockwell Talks About Soup Can Magazine

There are certain people around the state that New Jersey Stage likes to keep an eye on and Chris Rockwell is one of them.  He's a spoken word poet and hip-hop artist from the Jersey Shore who has organized cultural events throughout the tri-state area for over a decade. His latest project is called Soup Can Magazine, a printed publication featuring poetry and art which will be published quarterly. We reached out to him to learn more about the magazine.

A Borderless Exhibit at the Noyes Galleries

Right now, 21 artists from 14 countries are being featured in a new exhibition at the Noyes Galleries at Kramer Hall in Hammonton. “Borderless: Digital Practices in Changing Times” can be viewed in person at Kramer Hall and online through May 9, 2021. We recently spoke with six of the artists: Khaled Hafez from Cairo, Egypt, Max de Esteban from Barcelona, Spain, Seet Van Hout and Uwe Poth from Nijmegen, Netherlands, and curators Suzanne Reese Horvitz and Robert Roesch from Philadelphia – whose studio is in the South Jersey Pinelands – about overcoming the obstacles thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A "Waking Nightmare" at Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts

A nightmare, according to Merriam-Webster, is an unpleasant dream that produces a feeling of anxiety or terror, and a waking nightmare, as the phrase suggests, is one that continues to evoke those feelings even when the dreamer is awake. Or, more colloquially, it means that real-life situations are akin to those in nightmares.

New Exhibits at Montclair Art Museum Reimagine Norman Rockwell and Spotlight Recent Acquisitions

Two new exhibits launched in February at the Montclair Art Museum, which is reopened to the public in a limited fashion due to the pandemic. “Fragile Freedoms: Maggie Meiners Revisits Rockwell” is an especially timely exhibit that reimagines the iconic work of Norman Rockwell through the eyes of modern America. Meanwhile, “New York To New Mexico: New Acquisitions” spotlights some of the museum’s acquisitions of American and Native American art in the past few years.