The New Jersey State Museum, 205 W. State St., Trenton, will present 2022 New Jersey Arts Annual: Re-emergence.
New Jersey is home to a diverse and robust artistic community; the New Jersey Arts Annual exhibition highlights the work of visual artists and craftspeople from around the state. The New Jersey Arts Annual: Re-emergence exhibition will be on view from June 25 through April 30, according to a press release from the museum.
This year’s exhibition theme is “Re-emergence.” Artists, like most New Jerseyans, are taking steps to re-emerge into an altered landscape. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political and ideological polarization, and a collective reckoning with systemic racism remain critical to achieving the country’s promise, according to the press release.
“It is a privilege to present the work of these New Jersey artists as we all reckon with the events of the last few years and consider how we move forward in the ongoing pandemic,” said Sarah Vogelman, New Jersey State Museum Assistant Curator of Fine Art.
“The 95 selected artists, working across disciplines and media, have each responded to the ruptures and challenges of life in the pandemic in their own ways.
“In much of the work, themes of anxiety, isolation, surrealism and dis/connection come through, as do impulses to contemplate and commune with immediate surroundings, be it an interior scene, still-life or landscape. We hope the exhibition serves as a place for the public to engage and reflect as we each envision re-emergence,” Vogelman said.
This year’s juried exhibition drew 1,999 submissions from 393 artists, representing every one of New Jersey’s 21 counties. A total of 127 works by 95 artists were selected for inclusion in the exhibition.
The New Jersey State Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center will present “A Monkey and Me: Stories I Never Told My Mother,” a new musical comedy by New Jersey playwright, composer and lyricist Jonathan Brielle Holtzman, from June 24-30.
In this show, Holtzman portrays himself opposite TV and Broadway legend Tovah Feldshuh as his mother. The play also stars award winning actress Veanne Cox as his “monkey,” according to a press release.
Holtzman, known professionally as Jonathan Brielle, wrote the music and lyrics for “Foxfire” on Broadway and for Off-Broadway’s “Himself and Nora.”
In “A Monkey and Me,” a semi-autobiographical musical about growing up in Brielle and Deal and graduating from Asbury Park High School, Jonathan wrestles with a monkey from his Las Vegas extravaganza and his theatrical Jewish mother, all in the name of learning to love yourself to find love, according to the press release.
Playing for six performances between June 24 and June 30, “A Monkey and Me” takes place at the Vogel Auditorium at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park.
Tickets are available by calling 732-531-9106, ext. 14, or online at www.AxelrodArtsCenter.com. Visit the website for the latest COVID protocols at the theater. Ample free parking and group rates are available.