Oscar October (his stage name) introduced Spacetime Riffs, a local improvisational theater group of about ten performers, to the assembled audience at a recent performance.
“It’s not stand-up comedy,” he said. “It’s not set piece comedy. It’s unique. It’s improv.” And just to make sure the spectators were fully prepared, “I’m pretty sure we’ll offend everybody before the evening is over.” more
The city of Trenton and The Trenton Downtown Association (TDA) host The Levitt AMP Music Series on Capital Green, July 23 through September 24. Trenton was selected to receive a grant of $25,000 to hold 10 free, family-friendly concerts each beginning at 7:30 p.m. Trenton based NJM Insurance Group is also a presenting sponsor. more
That’s the acronym for Design at Dohm Alley, a multi-media “sensorium” planned for the space between Starbucks and Landau off of Nassau Street. This rendering shows how the entry is envisioned.
The Board of Trustees of Morven Museum and Garden has announced the appointment of Jill M. Barry as executive director. Ms. Barry comes to Morven from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, where she has been deputy director since 2012. She will begin her transition over the summer as she relocates to Princeton and assumes full-time responsibilities in early September. more
Princeton Chronicles, a group of student researchers and artists from Princeton High School, propose a community project featuring murals commemorating historical Princetonians from the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. Princeton Chronicles invites the public to learn about the project by viewing an exhibition on view at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts and encourages the public to provide feedback. 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. The exhibition runs through July 30. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924-8777.
“GHOST HOUSE”: This painting by Joanie Chirico is on view at the D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center through August 26. The exhibition titled “Art as Activism: Climate Change” demonstrates the role of artists in the climate change movement.
“Art as Activism: Climate Change” is on view at D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place, through August 26. Art works document nature’s threatened beauty and show the influence of artists on the climate change discussion in the Anthropocene era. An artists’ reception will take place Friday, July 15, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. more
BLUE CURTAIN RETURNS WITH AN EVENING OF WORLD MUSIC TO HEAT UP THE SUMMER NIGHT: Celebrating 12 years of bringing world-class musicians from around the globe to Princeton for FREE summer concerts, Blue Curtain returns to Community Park North Amphitheater in Pettoranello Gardens on Saturday, July 16 starting at 7 p.m. with Latin jazz legend Papo Vázquez, Mighty Pirates Troubadours and Sofia Rei, who has been called “one of the best Argentine singers ever.”
Featuring Caribbean and South American sounds, Blue Curtain welcomes Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours and Sofia Rei to Pettoranello Gardens on Saturday, July 16 at 7 p.m. The concert is free. more
“AFGHAN GIRL”: This iconic photograph by Steve McCurry will be on display at the Michener Art Museum starting July 16 as part of the exhibit, “Unguarded, Untold, Iconic: Afghanistan through the Lens of Steve McCurry.”
In an exhibition that opens on July 16, 2016, the James A. Michener Art Museum will present a collection of photographs by Steve McCurry, the photographer whose iconic image “Afghan Girl” captivated the world in 1985. more
Now is the chance to visit the Ellarslie Open 33 Juried Exhibit that will close on June 26. This painting by Sheila Grabarsky titled “Orange Segment” won the Douglas H. Palmer Award for Best in Show Overall and is part of the exhibition. Along with this piece are more than 180 artworks from area artists that are currently on view at the Trenton City Museum.
SUMMER COURTYARD CONCERT SERIES: Soul R&B artist Lindsey Webster will perform at the Princeton Shopping Center on Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. as part of the Summer Courtyard Concert Series.
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP), in partnership with the Princeton Shopping Center and Edens, presents the Summer Courtyard Concert Series every Thursday from June 23 to August 25 at 6 p.m. in the Princeton Shopping Center Courtyard, 301 North Harrison Street. more
The Mercer County Park Commission announces that “Dark Star Orchestra: Continuing the Grateful Dead Concert” is coming to Mercer County Park Festival Grounds on Friday, August 12. The concert will start at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m. Tickets are $27 for general admission and are available now for purchase through the Sun National Bank Center box office. To purchase, call (800)-298-4200 or visit www.sunnationalbankcenter.com.
Over 120 young pianists competed in this year’s Princeton Festival Piano Competition. The 2016 Young Artist Winners are (l to r): Mia Huang, Petrina Steimel, Stephen Joven-Lee, Isabella Florendo, Kyle Huang, Angeline Ma and Linsy Wang. Jacobs Music was again the sponsor for the Young Pianists Competition, which has been a highly anticipated feature of The Princeton Festival since 2008. Lois Laverty and Glenn Smith were Masters of Ceremonies and Randy Brown from Jacobs Music Company presented the awards. (Photo Credit: Pia Ruggles)
“FUNKY COLOR WHEEL”: This 19” x 14” artwork by third grader Gabriel Contreras will be featured in the exhibition “The Many Colors of Christina Seix Academy” at the Erdman Art Gallery. Each of the artworks on display was created by a third grader from the Academy, which serves children from single-parent homes in the greater Trenton area.
Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Art Gallery presents “The Many Colors of Christina Seix Academy,” an exhibition of still life paintings, etchings, sculptures, mosaics, and rock art, created by third grade students of the academy. The exhibition at the gallery, located at 20 Library Place, opens Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to noon. The exhibit, which runs until August 19, is free and open to the public. more
The Prima Trio will perform at Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts series. Founded in 2004 while its members were studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, the Trio triumphed at the 2007 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, winning the coveted Grand Prize, as well as the Gold Medal in the Senior Division. In addition, the Prima Trio was awarded a Midwest Winner’s Tour and a European debut at Italy’s Emilia Romagna Festival. more
Soprano Dominika Zamara and classical guitarist Stanley Alexandrowicz will perform arias, songs, and solos at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10, at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the Mercer County Library System. The program will highlight Romantic-era songs by Croatia’s preeminent 19th century composer-guitarist Ivan Padovec (1800-1873), Baroque and contemporary guitar solos, as well as famous operatic arias by Vincenzo Bellini (“Casta Diva” — from the opera “Norma”), and Georges Bizet (“Habanera” — from the opera “Carmen”). more
Jeff Nathanson will be stepping down as executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) at the end of 2016, the ACP announced yesterday.
The Arts Council on Witherspoon Street has experienced a significant transformation in the 11 years since Mr. Nathanson took the helm in 2005.
“Jeff successfully led the Arts Council through an exciting time of tremendous growth for the organization,” stated Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert. “He’s been an effective and effusive champion for the role of the arts in building community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him, and am very sad to see him move on.”
ACP Board of Trustees President Ted Deutsch echoed the mayor’s praise, describing Mr. Nathanson as “an outstanding leader not just for the arts community, but for the Greater Princeton community as a whole. His in-depth experience in arts program development and management helped the organization dramatically expand and improve its arts-related offerings over the past decade. At the same time he has kept the ACP focused on its historic mission to serve the local community through free, accessible and inclusive events and scholarship programs for children and families.” more
Four British authors will discuss their novels June 25 in the intimate setting of an 18th-century literary salon at Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, and the Center of Theological Inquiry’s Luce Hall, 50 Stockton Street, with their friend across the Atlantic, Gladstone’s Library in North Wales.
The authors are Stella Duffy, James Robertson, Sarah Perry, and Andrew Nichol. The moderator is the well-known BBC broadcaster Sally Magnusson. more
Executive Director of New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the author of “The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America,” will be appearing at Friend Center 101, Olden and William Streets, in Princeton at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8. The program will be moderated by Rhinold Lamar Ponder. Admission is free, though registration is suggested.
Thanks to a press pass that permitted me into “A Strange New Beauty: Edgar Degas” ahead of the paying public, I had the exhibit galleries more or less to myself for one precious, quietly hallucinatory hour. What follows should be about what I saw during a Sunday morning early opening at the Museum of Modern Art. But when the task of commenting on monotypes by Degas (1834-1917) coincides with the death of Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), all bets are off. more
“DADDY’S ARMS”: This artwork by Nategna L. is part of an upcoming exhibition at the Hunterdom Art Museum featuring work done by clients of HomeFront, an organization that aids the homeless in central New Jersey. The show runs until September 4.
The Hunterdon Art Museum (HAM) and HomeFront have partnered to create an exhibition that aims to empower the homeless. The opening reception for the exhibit called “The Many Meanings of Home” is Saturday, June 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the museum, 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and suggested admission is $5. more
This collage painting is one of 50 artworks by Meredith Remz on display at Triumph Brewing Company until August 7. Among Remz’s art inspirations are industrial design and nature.
The 25th annual garden tour in this Trenton neighborhood of brick brownstones and tidy townhouses is offering up 26 spaces this year, in a range of shapes, sizes, and styles. The event will be held Saturday June 11, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance; $15 the day of the tour and includes a pre-hour talk at Artworks, on Everett Alley, with Jim Simon, Isles Deputy Director of Urban Agriculture. “Tiny, Tasty and Attractive: Ornamental and Edible Gardening for Small Spaces” is from 11 a.m. to noon. Plenty of free parking is available.
Visit trentonmillhill.org for full information.
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The Historical Society of Princeton’s Concert Under the Stars took place on Saturday, June 4 at Updike Farmstead in Princeton. Guests enjoyed wine and dined outdoors while exploring the property’s six acre estate. This year’s fundraiser featured a 90-minute live performance by The Samples, an indie rock band formed in 1985. The event proved to be one of the most memorable nights of the summer.
“PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER”: This painting by Henriette Wyeth will be on display at the Michener Museum come December 2017. Thanks to a large grant awarded from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michener will have a retrospective exhibition examining the work of the late husband-and-wife artists Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd.
The James A. Michener Art Museum has received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the MAGICAL & REAL: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd: A Retrospective exhibition with an accompanying catalogue. Co-organized with the Roswell Museum and Art Center in New Mexico, the exhibition will examine the work of husband-and-wife artists Henriette Wyeth (1907-1997) and Peter Hurd (1904-1984). The exhibition will open at the Michener Art Museum in December 2017. more
Artist, educator and arts advocate Judith K. Brodsky receiving an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Rider University President Gregory G. Dell’Omo. In her address, she gave the Class of 2016 a “twofold message, one is to be passionate about something in the world, and the other is don’t just accept things as they are.” (Photo Courtesy of Rider University)
