Put aside differences for kids’ sake
By: Mae Rhine
Artists and the organizers of the poster auction, held the second day, Sunday, of the annual Shad Festival, need to put aside their differences for the greater good.
The poster auction raises thousands of dollars for art scholarships for seniors from the South Hunterdon and New Hope-Solebury high schools.
This year, however, a point of contention is a paragraph asking artists to refrain from making political statements in their art. The reason behind this came from one of the posters at the First Presbyterian Church, where the artwork is displayed each year.
We hope the artists created whatever they wanted, but didn’t go out of their way to make a political statement just to protest the inclusion of the paragraph. If you already planned to make a statement, fine, but, hopefully, you didn’t do it just because you wanted to make a point.
Festival organizer Steve Stegman already has admitted he might have been wrong in insisting on adding that paragraph (see this week’s letters to the editor).
He has apologized publicly to the artists, the "lifeblood," as he calls them, of the auction.
Therefore, the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the festival, should not enforce it.
Then, the public should come out in droves to support the auction, particularly those that indicate freedom of political expression is alive and well in the river cities of Lambertville and New Hope.
Once the auction’s over, the artists should continue to make their feelings known. It seems likely, from the tone of Mr. Stegman’s apology, he would be willing to eliminate this paragraph next year.
This should be a lesson in diplomacy for all those concerned, from those making decisions without first discussing it with the artists, and those creating the incredible works of art that delight the buyers and make things easier for those who want to follow in their talented footsteps.

