Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 09/14/2021

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- In April 2021, Art House Productions embarked on the Jersey City Community Song, seeking submissions from New Jersey-based poets and writers of lines about the theme, "Life in the Pandemic and Beyond: Reflections of Yesterday, Dreaming of Tomorrow."

After receiving submissions from 18 talented writers, local songwriter and music teacher Carol Lester, curated the original, crowdsourced song titled “Stronger” using lines from each submission.

Contributing writers include Stephen Cole, Danielle Dadamo, Stephanie Daniels, Chris Garrahan, Deirdre Garrahan, Jack Halpin, ShrujanaIyer, Steve Kulberg, Carol Lester, Linda Nassaney, Leonora Obed, Genesis Pierre Louis, Hara Rola, Thais Sherell, Megha Sood, Sara Welch, David Williams, and Alicia Wright.

Singers include Meredith Burns, Max Di Biaggio, Lola Castellano, Carol Lester, Bertram Okpokwasil, and Alishia Taiping. Musicians include Carol Lester, Peter Moffitt, and Vivian Warfield. Video by Courtney Little. Special thanks to David Castellano, Doménica Dillon, Alex Pergament, Gretchen Von Koenig, and Emmanuel Vozos.

This project was sponsored by the City of Jersey City and Office of Cultural Affairs.

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Art House Productions was founded in late September 2001 by Christine Goodman, a community leader and professional performing artist. Art House began as an informal gathering of poets and community members in direct response to the tragedies of September 11th. At that time, there were no consistent performance venues for artists in Jersey City to meet one another and share new work. Art House's inaugural event sprung from the desire to connect a devastated community through art and dialogue. Since then, Art House has established itself as a pioneer of artistic and cultural programming in Hudson County.

The mission of Art House Productions is to engage, inspire, entertain and challenge audiences with highly intentional visual and performing arts programming; provide arts education to promote lifelong learning to diverse communities; and celebrate the essential power of the arts to illuminate humanity. Art House provides a home for innovative performing, visual, and literary artists to develop new work; presents emerging and under-recognized artists who are making significant contributions to their respective fields; and serves as a space for established artists to take creative risks.

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