×
Articles By Carolyn M. Brown
Newark Arts Festival 2023 To Celebrate 50 Years Of Hip Hop And Cross Cultural Perspectives
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, with celebrations planned nationwide. Keeping the momentum going this fall is New Jersey's largest city, as the Newark Arts Festival (NAF) 2023 will feature arts and culture events spanning all five wards of Newark from Wednesday, September 27 through Sunday, October 1. The free four-day festival is produced by Newark Arts in association with The Newark Museum of Art and is expected to attract thousands of artists, collectors, aficionados, and creatives.
CavanKerry Press Broadens the Reach of Poetry and the Experiences of a Diverse Group of Authors
Making sensitive or inconvertable topics more palatable to the general public is a big part of the mission of Fort Lee, New Jersey-based CavanKerry Press. As a not-for-profit literary press serving art and the community, CavanKerry is committed to expanding the reach of poetry by publishing works that explore the emotional and psychological landscapes of everyday life and bringing that art to underserved populations. With its LaurelBooks imprint, CavanKerry is especially engaged with work from people living with physical and/or mental illness and disability.
Out of the Park Exhibit Showcases Asbury Park Artists and Gallery Owners at the Monmouth Museum
Asbury Park is known for its art scene. Not readily known are the founders, directors, and curators behind the galleries responsible for managing exhibitions of the works of local artists. Many of these gallery owners are exhibited artists themselves. In celebration of the artistry and entrepreneurship of Asbury Park, the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft, New Jersey, is hosting "Out of the Park," an exhibition highlighting a group of multidisciplinary artists and gallery owners who helped define the cultural Renaissance of Asbury Park.
"Spring Awakening" Coming of Age Musical at Vanguard
Vanguard Theater will present the coming-of-age musical "Spring Awakening" from June 22 through July 16. A celebration of youth and rebellion, censorship and its consequences, "Spring Awakening" fuses issues of morality and sexuality with alternative rock music into an emotionally charged story.
The 43rd Annual New Jersey Governor's Awards in Arts Education To Honor Over 100 NJ Students and Educators
Over 100 students and arts educators will receive the state’s most prestigious award in arts education at the 43rd Annual New Jersey Governor's Awards in Arts Education celebration during Arts Ed NJ Day. The event will take place June 2 at 5 p.m. at the College of New Jersey and will honor those who have demonstrated excellence in and dedication to arts education. Over the past four decades, the Governor's Awards has highlighted New Jersey's most talented youth. Students of artistic disciplines as varied as dance, music, poetry, visual arts, speech, debate and theater have walked across the awards stage to receive their medal.
Two Planet- and Family-Friendly Performances at Rowan College in Honor of Earth Day
Rowan University's College of Performing Arts, home of the Marie Rader Presenting Series, will present two planet- and family-friendly performances April 23, the solar-powered mobile stage show "The Puppet Cycle: Small World Stories," followed by bestselling author and composer Dan Brown's "Wild Symphony," a presentation of nearly two dozen musical portraits drawn from the animal kingdom for young audiences.
Newark Artists and Prominent Actors to Celebrate Literary Legacy of Philip Roth During Weekend-Long Festival
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in collaboration with the Newark Public Library will present Philip Roth Unbound, a weekend-long festival that celebrates the life, legacy and work of novelist and Newark native. Over the course of three days, beginning Friday, March 17 and concluding Sunday, March 19, 2023, NJPAC will host a series of events, featuring more than 40 prominent writers, actors, artists, journalists and intellectuals in the nation. Designed to appeal to audiences of all backgrounds, the festival will feature star-studded stage readings, panel discussions and a comedy showcase. The program is designed to explore the significance and impact of Roth's unique literary legacy, using his writings as a springboard to explore broader questions about life in America today.
Black Women's Mural Raises Awareness About Black Suffragists, Celebrates Black Voices, and Sparks Community Pride
Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a prominent journalist and activist who fought tirelessly for women’s right to vote even though she is often left out of historical conversations about the women’s suffrage movement. Today her image graces a mural located in the heart of downtown Englewood, New Jersey, on the east-facing wall of the Women's Rights Information Center building at 108 W. Palisades Avenue. The painting was inspired by the 100th year anniversary of the 19th Amendment. “The Black Women’s Mural: Celebrating Black Suffragists and Black Women in Englewood” is meant to celebrate the achievements of Black women who paved the way for civil and women’s rights as well as serve as a beacon of pride and hope for young girls, Black women and the community-at-large in Englewood.
Singer-songwriter and Guitarist Danielia Cotton Returns to the Hopewell Theater With Her “Home For The Holidays” Show Dec. 17
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Danielia Cotton is returning to her hometown of Hopewell, New Jersey for the holiday season with a concert at the Hopewell Theater Saturday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m. With her big and bold vocals, Cotton has been compared to such iconic artists as Lenny Kravitz, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. She has carved out a niche in the music industry with her own unique soulful-rock sound and uncompromising artistry, having shared the stage with the likes of Robert Cray, Bon Jovi and Gregg Allman.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker Celebrates Its 10th Season at NJPAC Featuring Spectacular Hip-hop Dancers and The Rap King of Christmas Kurtis Blow
The Hip Hop Nutcracker is celebrating its 10th season at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), with two stunning performances taking place Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tchaikovsky’s 130-year-old ballet reimagined and remixed as a holiday dance spectacle features hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, who performs as the master of ceremonies at the show’s opening, pumping up the crowd and motivating them with an audience calland-response. Highly regarded as one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, Blow is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label in 1979. A cast of a dozen all-star dancers will display supercharged hip-hop choreography alongside an onstage DJ and an electric violinist who turns the beloved classical Nutcracker score on its head, according to the show’s organizers.
Hip Hop Icons Chuck D, Rakim and Speech to Perform With Jazz Great Christian McBride at the 11th Annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) welcomes the 11th Annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival Nov. 8 – 20, 2022. This year’s program offers events combining jazz luminaries with artists known for R&B, poetry, hip hop, tap, and so much more.
The Montclair Art Museum Holds an Indigenous Peoples Weekend
The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) will honor the artistry and contributions of Indigenous peoples with a series of workshops, performances and art-making activities with an Indigenous Peoples Weekend Oct. 7 – 10. The Lenape are the Indigenous people of New Jersey and MAM is inviting adults, children and families across the state to join them in recognizing Native American history and heritage here in Lenapehoking (homelands of the Lenape).
Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District Celebrates 15th Anniversary of Its Annual Lincoln Park Music Festival and Return to Newark With The Soul of Lincoln Park
The Lincoln Park Music Festival is one of the largest annual music festivals in the tri-state region. Nearly 60,000 people from around the globe come together over two weekends to experience multiple genres of music, including gospel, R&B, house, hip-hop, soulful alternative/mash-up, reggae, dancehall, soca and music of the Latinx/Hispanic Caribbean diaspora.
“For the Culture, By the Culture” Exhibit Spotlights 19 Local and National Black Artists of Influence
In celebration of Art in the Atrium’s 30th anniversary, the Morris Museum and Art in the Atrium (ATA) present the exhibition, For the Culture, By the Culture: 30 Years of Black Art, Activism, and Achievement. This exhibition brings together prior ATA-featured artists in a group retrospective that spans 30 years and spotlights local and national Black artists who are masters of their craft and who have contributed to Black culture by creating impactful works.
“Dreaming Zenzile,” Based On the Life of Legendary South African Singer Miriam Makeba, Premiers at McCarter
The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton is presenting the world premiere musical Dreaming Zenzile, based on the life of legendary South African singer Zenzile Miriam Makeba. Running now until February 13, 2022, Dreaming Zenzile is a unique musical and electrifying portrait of the revolutionary artist nicknamed “Mama Africa,” who managed to marry her art with her activism. Makeba was banned from her own country for more than 30 years under apartheid.
August Wilson’s "Radio Golf" Returns to Two River Theater, Continuing the American Century Cycle Legacy of Plays
The critically acclaimed production of August Wilson’s play Radio Golf is back at Two River Theater after being forced to shut down early in its March 2020 run. Radio Golf is the 10th and final play of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a series of plays documenting the African American experience throughout the 20th century. The production marks Two River’s sixth play from the Cycle and will run until November 21, 2021, in Two River’s Rechnitz Theater.South Camden Theatre Company Presents "Daphne's Dive" by Quiara Alegria Hudes
After one of the longest shutdowns of the American stage, the South Camden Theatre Company and Waterfront South Theatre in Camden, NJ, reopened with the staging of the regional premiere of “Daphne’s Dive.”