A Note from the Editor
Dear friends,
We don't need to tell you that we are living through a scary and jumbled point in time. We don't need to tell you that we are doing our best and care about the health of everyone, or that you should wash your hands. All of that is a given. What we are going to say is Discover Jersey Arts is continuing to fulfill its mission to increase the awareness of and participation in the arts in New Jersey.
Participation. What a word right now, huh?
No, we're not going to tell you to go to your local museum and check out its cool new exhibition; that's not the world we live in right now. However, we might tell that your local museum had a new exhibit, and take a look at why they had included it in their calendar. We may tell you why the curator chose the artwork they did why they chose a specific artist's creations. We may tell you more about that artist — where they create, why they use their medium of choice, and who inspires them to express themselves. We may tell you why their work is important in yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's society. And we're going to encourage you to participate.
Participate by learning more about your local museum. Maybe you can visit the museum virtually and check out their permanent collection, or maybe you can browse their online gift shop and buy a thinking-of-you gift for a loved one. Participate by liking that artist on social media, and encouraging your friends to do the same. Participate by recreating a piece of work that really moved you, whether in a similar medium or by writing a short story about it, playing a song that gives you the same feeling, or posting a video of you showing it to your cat.
The arts bring us together, even if it's not in a physical manner. When we encourage our children to create a work of refrigerator art based on a prompt from a favorite artist, we are participating. When we donate to our favorite community theatre or sign up for that regional opera company's email list, we are participating. When we journal or knit or practice the waltz with a body pillow, we are participating. When we seek out the arts, share with our loved ones, and perpetuate that creative cycle, we are participating.
We hope you'll continue to participate in the awesome arts we have here in NJ, and we’re eager to help you in that endeavor. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to employ our incredible group of contributors to share more about our awesome regional arts groups and what they are up to in this time of social distancing, and to talk to artists of all sorts about their passions, their works, and their triumphs and struggles. Please continue to join us, and show us how and where we can participate too.
Be well,
Koren Rife
Editor, Culture Vultures Arts Weekly
