Feature Stories

I love an "a-ha moment" – that point when timing, circumstance, and cognition meet – and within minutes of stepping into the opening reception for Camden FireWorks current exhibition, "Storytelling Quilts: Celebrating Communal Textile Traditions," I had one of those moments.

The Moore’s Lounge Players, one of New Jersey’s longest-running jazz jam bands, will head up an unforgettable jazz performance and the ultimate jam session as part of the “Jammin’ in the Loft” series at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) on Wednesday, April 24, at 7 PM. Curated by Gregory Burrus Productions, “Jammin’ in the Loft” is a series that takes the local music scene by force with an energetic experience of seeing talented local musicians perform up close and personal, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd of friends, fans, and fellow musicians.

Musical theater nerds can rejoice, George Street Playhouse is bringing back “Tick Tick… BOOM!,” the posthumously produced musical by Jonathan Larson, best known for having written the widely known rock opera, “Rent.”

Artist Judith Bernstein “gained prominence for her distinctive series of biomorphic screw drawings, initiated in 1969,” according to exhibition materials. “These expansive artworks boldly appropriate the screw as a symbol of phallic oppression, challenging its association with the colloquial expression ‘being screwed’ while exuding a foreboding sense of power.”

Our clothing makes a statement. It tells the world who we are at any given moment and allows for a sense of expression that words cannot convey. Newark has a storied history within the fashion world and the Newark Museum of Art is honoring that history with their latest exhibition, "The Story of Newark Fashion: Atelier to Runway."

Ballet Mecanique, Antheil’s most renowned musical composition, was originally conceived for a Dadaist film co-directed by artist Fernand Léger, with cinematography by Man Ray. But the score grew to be larger than the film itself and premiered as an independent composition in 1924. It excited audiences to riot in the streets. 

“Pilobolus is a rebellious dance company. Since 1971, Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies. We continue to bring this tradition to global audiences through our post-disciplinary collaborations with some of the greatest influencers, thinkers, and creators in the world.”

The Pattern & Decoration (P&D) movement emerged in the 1970s as an “irreverent upstart movement,” to borrow the words of New York Times art critic Roberta Smith. It offered an alternative “to the general manliness of modernism,” and elevated women’s work. It looked to decorative traditions across the world, to surfaces like textiles, and to wallpaper, manuscript illuminations, mosaics, glassware, embroideries, and architectural flourishes, writes Tess Thakara at Artsy.net.

Art featuring faces holds a unique allure because it taps into our intrinsic human desire to connect and understand others. The Just Faces juried exhibition features works that are windows to the soul, conveying a depth of emotion and story without the need for words. They reflect the complexity of human experience, from joy and love to pain and despair, allowing viewers to engage in a silent conversation with the artist and the subject.

No one writes songs about relationships quite like Stephen Sondheim, and A Little Night Music, now being performed by American Theater Group at Hamilton Stage, is no exception.

Driving from central New Jersey to the Gallery at Stockton University on a late February day in which the sunshine hinted at spring, I became aware of the changes to the landscape. Trees gave way to tall grasses, the earth seemed sandier, and the Shore was not far away. There were signs for rivers and other bodies of water.

The 1996 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Matilda" is one of several collaborations between Newman and New Jersey's own Danny DeVito, and on March 22nd, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will present "Matilda" live in concert conducted by Newman with live narration by DeVito.

When Celtic Woman performs at State Theatre New Jersey at 15 Livingston Ave. in New Brunswick, NJ, on March 16, there will certainly be a lot of St. Patrick’s Day energy in the building. The show, which is happening the day before the global celebration of Irish heritage, will mark the latest stop on the group’s 20th anniversary tour across the United States. And it has been entertaining audiences throughout the country through the power of Irish music.

Hailing from the counties Waterford, Cork, Dublin, and Donegal in Ireland, Danú is one of today’s leading traditional Irish music bands to traverse the global stage, playing standing room only concerts. For nearly 30 years, the ensemble has hosted high-energy performances around the world and has recorded ten critically acclaimed albums.

As their website reads, “The Harlem Chamber Players is an ethnically diverse collective of professional classical musicians dedicated to bringing high-caliber, affordable, accessible live music to people in the Harlem community and beyond. The Harlem Chamber Players help build diverse audiences for live classical music through community and educational outreach and collaborations with other arts organizations, schools and cultural institutions. The Harlem Chamber Players also promote community wide access to the arts and arts inclusion.”

It’s an all-star lineup of artists’ names, from Faith Ringgold and Howardena Pindell to  Emma Amos, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Willie Cole, Bettye Saar, Joyce Scott… 59 in total! These are among the best of the best of contemporary artists, who just happen to be Black. And who just happen to be in the collection of the Montclair Art Museum. 

Paul J. Stankard is an internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer in the studio glass movement. His lifelike, nature-based glassworks have changed the paperweight world over his forty-year artistic career. Having begun his career working in scientific glassblowing, it was through this industry that he found creativity and learned that he was indeed an artist.

Guided by the Ancestors, African Warrior Queens, a woman named Sister struggles to find a place of self-reconciliation and acceptance in the world as she is given a glimpse into the lives and legacy of Black women—past and present, young and old. This is the story behind “Black Girl Magic,” a powerful show coming to West Windsor Township, NJ, hailing from the Underground Performing Arts Collective in Suffolk, Virginia.

As soon as the banner announcing the retrospective of Freda Williams hung from the red brick façade of Artworks Trenton, the excitement began. “She has so many stories to tell,” Artistic Director Addison Vincent said of the 86-year-old artist who has lived all but the first five years of her life in Greater Trenton. 

Alonzo Adams has been using his paintings to tell stories of the contemporary Black experience for over 25 years. In his first solo museum exhibition at Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, his own story as an artist is being told, from his very first painting to pieces that have not been seen publicly for years. We went to New Brunswick to speak with the artist about putting this exhibition together, and how it feels to return to Rutgers, where he once studied. “Alonzo Adams: A Griot’s Vision” is on display through February 25.