The Arts Institute of Middlesex County is presenting a multitude of arts and culture events, exhibitions and shows throughout May, primarily centered around History Month.
While the pandemic has affected in-person events, artists all over the county and the Middlesex County Arts Institute have come together to find creative ways of connecting residents through public art, virtual experiences, and safe performances.
These events can be accessed virtually every Wednesday at 4 p.m. and are free.
May’s event highlights include:
- May 5 at 4 p.m.: In celebration of History Month, join the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick in a reading of “Bees: A Honeyed History” written and illustrated by Wojciech Grajkowski and Piotr Socha. After learning about these powerful pollinators, create your own bee collage with scraps you have on hand.
- May 12 at 4 p.m.: Discover the county’s history by sifting through the soil alongside the Raritan River with a pair of young archaeologists in a reading of “Rediscovering Raritan Landing: Buried Treasure of Raritan Landing” written and illustrated by Christee Curran. After the reading, explore some of the real life objects that were unearthed during the dig with county historian Mark Nonestied and document your observations in sketches.
- May 15 at 10 a.m.: Celebrate History Day virtually on May 15. Join a day of livestreamed baseball games and lectures. A MCFOODS food drive will be held in person from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the East Jersey Old Town Village, Johnson Park or send a virtual donation to help stock the shelves. Visit http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/HistoryMonth for information.
- May 19 at 4 p.m.: Join the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick in a reading of “Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story” written by Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. After the reading, joined the Arts Institute’s Sally Van de Water as she leads a discussion about the ways we can share cultural and family histories through food.
- May 26 at 4 p.m.: Explore the incredible life and service of local hero Paul Robeson in a reading of “Grandpa Stops a War: A Paul Robeson Story” written by Susan Robeson and illustrated by Rod Brown. After a reading by the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick President C. Roy Epps., use paints to create an image to honor your own personal hero.
Visit www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Artsculture for full details on all the events. Registration details and links to live stream events are available.
To honor History Month, the Arts Institute will present a series of videos and content on http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/HistoryMonth
.