(PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- West Windsor Arts offers studio visits with Artist in Residence Dr. Maria Lupo on Saturday, March 1, 2025 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Admission is free. Artist Dr. Maria Lupo is busy creating art in their studio and welcomes visitors. Come in to the arts center, meet Maria, see her art and ask questions.
“We established the Artist in Residence program to provide the community with access to an artist who engages them in a variety of ways about art by sharing their unique experiences, processes and purpose,” says Aylin Green, Executive Director, West Windsor Arts. “It’s also a great opportunity for the artist to share their work with our passionate audience and to participate in a meaningful exchange of ideas.”
Dr. Maria Lupo on her art, "My work is influenced greatly by the power of myth and fairy tales to inform and understand my own biographical journey through universal stories and themes. Personally, I am longing to belong to be accepted and to find my sense of place which as a child did not exist in my world. A stranger in a strange land displaced, disjointed... alone. My creative process is stimulated by various and unusual materials while enjoying their lush and tactile properties. Transcending the use of traditional materials, my work includes such materials as: topsoil, teabags, fabric, faux flowers, recycled materials."
For accessibility needs, please review their Accessibility Features. You can also reach out to [email protected] with questions regarding this event. West Windsor Arts Council is located at 952 Alexander Road in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.
A nationally recognized artist and Board-Certified Art Therapist, Lupo attended Rutgers University, NJ receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Thru Rutgers University, Dr. Lupo began her Sculptural studies in Cennina, Italy. Dr. Lupo continued her studies in Sculpture at Hunter College, CUNY, receiving a Master’s of Fine Arts degree. In addition to her studies as a fine artist. Lupo has completed her Post-Masters Specialization in Art Therapy from Caldwell University and is a Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist holding a second Master’s Degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. Montclair State and Caldwell Universities, Cedar Crest and Ramapo College. As a clinician, Dr. Lupo’s work focuses on dementia care (Alzheimer’s), neuro-diversity, well-being, gender, caregiver support and End of Life issues. A recipient of the NJ State Council on the Arts fellowship award, Dr Lupo’s work is included in many public and private collections.
West Windsor Arts cultivates the artist within us all, while inspiring a creative community that is engaged, inclusive and equitable.
It all began in 2002 when these community members and West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh convened the Mayor’s Art Center Formation Task Force with the goal to reinvigorate the historic Princeton Junction Firehouse into an arts center. They sought to create a welcoming place that would encourage and nurture individuals on their personal creative journeys and provide top-notch arts and culture programming. Soon after, they applied for and received 501(c)3 nonprofit status from the IRS.
In September 2010, after years of planning and fundraising by the community, the art center opened in the historic 1931 firehouse under a ten-year lease from the township. The firehouse had once been the site of dances, receptions, and bandage-rolling events during World War II. Now, the organization and center once again serve as a gathering point for the greater West Windsor community presenting arts education classes and camps, community outreach events and rental space, select performances in theater, music, and dance, literary events, and art exhibitions.
The Covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted the operations of West Windsor Arts – for nearly one and a half years, the building remained closed, staff worked from home, and the organization experienced grave financial hardship. However, the mission was sustained through excellent leadership, engaging virtual programming, and supportive partnerships. Having successfully returned to in person events and programs in the summer of 2021, they now lead the community back to their full roster of programs.
