originally published: 04/25/2025
(MOORESTOWN, NJ) -- The Rancocas Project Crankie Performance is a powerful, family-friendly outdoor event that blends one of the oldest storytelling art forms with shadow puppetry, live music, visual art, and local residents' voices to explore the local impacts of climate change. The performance will take place on Friday, May 9, 2025 at Perkins Center in Moorestown and recorded for showing in Perkin's lobby and Youtube channel. The event begins at 8:00pm.
Stories were gathered from local residents over the past year and include the experiences of flood survivors, a creek’s self-appointed guardian, and a family whose bond with nature was tested by disaster.
“Burlington County residents have lost their homes; they’ve had to move away. The cranky allows us to tell a hard story in a whimsical way. We aren’t making light of their trauma. Rather, we are inviting audiences to engage with it in a way that is accessible and meaningful,” she adds. “Crankie performances are unusual; it’s sort of like a live-action movie with the live music and performers behind the screen.”
Jung, who was inspired by her own neighbors’ struggles during Hurricane Sandy, sought to amplify voices that are too often unheard.
Created by interdisciplinary artist Jin Jung, the Rancocas Project features a crankie performance—a hand-cranked moving picture show projected onto a large screen—set to an original score composed and performed live by Julian Cartright. It showcases deeply personal stories from Burlington County residents, reflecting the toll of flooding inland, where climate- related disasters are often unexpected and underreported.
“The key messages: it is on each of us to be available for our neighbors in times of crisis, to come together and share our differences, share our experiences and find solutions together,” said Allison Hunt, Perkins Director of Education. “It is also about appreciating nature and the importance of conservation.
Jin Jung is a Jersey City-based interdisciplinary artist and art educator whose work centers on community storytelling and environmental connection. She teaches at New Jersey City University and has received numerous fellowships and public art awards for her innovative work.
Julian Cartright is a musician, composer, and educator at Perkins Center for the Arts. His original music brings heart and atmosphere to this live performance, enhancing the emotional landscape of each story told.
“People see photos of floods,” Jung notes, “but they have no idea how it feels when you lose all of your things. Many people freeze emotionally and physically when faced with the devastation. The only way to prepare for the possibility is to bear witness to the suffering of our neighbors, and to discuss it. I wanted to use my art to facilitate that conversation.”
The Creative Process and the Crankie
Why a crankie? “It’s a unique object and people can come to it with an open heart because as children, they may have experienced something similar through shadow puppetry where the background changes. There is something magical about that,” explains Jung.
As part of the year-long project, Jung engaged Perkins Summer Camp students in a workshop on crankies. The scrolls they made guided the visual direction of the piece.
“We very rarely get to work on a project that has so many moving parts with one artist, and that also reaches back into the community,” notes Hunt. “We selected Jin for two reasons: the creativity of her performance art and that she wanted to interview people in the community—our neighbors—about their experiences.”
The three crankies being used were built by a local woodworker. For the live event, puppeteers will crank and narrate the scenes while original videos and imagery are collaged together. Cameras on the crankies will capture the performance and project it onto a large screen.
The Grant Process
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA), in partnership with the New Jersey Coastal Management Program, called for NJSCA arts grantees to participate in a project within a designated watershed and Perkins demonstrated its capability within the Burlington County Rancocas watershed. NJSCA also invited artists to submit project ideas, receiving 60 proposals, including one from Jin Jung.
“Also, the concept of an outdoor performance complemented existing summer programming at our Moorestown site and aligned with Perkins' mission of community engagement and responsiveness.”
Bring the whole family and enjoy an evening under the stars filled with personal storytelling, original music, and a deep dive into the ties between people, place, and nature.
This program is presented by Perkins Center for the Arts and artist Jin Jung and is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New Jersey Coastal Management Program, Department of Environmental Protection – in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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