A Love Letter to Asbury Park
Discover Jersey Arts - A Love Letter to Asbury Park: The APin3 Film Challenge
Asbury Park, NJ, a modest-sized, historic city of sixteen thousand with a rich tapestry of history, “punches above its weight” artistically and culturally. Founded as a premier seaside resort destination and connected to New York City (and the world) by rail, it drew countless visitors to its boardwalk and beaches even before the age of the automobile. The city faced significant economic challenges during the latter half of the 20th century, leading to urban decline and disinvestment. But, the resilient spirit of its community has been evident in its recent revival, as major efforts have been made to rejuvenate its cultural attractions, restore historic sites, and foster economic development, all while navigating the complexities of gentrification and maintaining the city’s unique character.
Sponsored by the Asbury Park Arts Council (APAC), the APin3 Film Challenge is not so much a “film festival” as a community filmmaking challenge in which budding directors and filmmaking teams create a 3-minute short film highlighting aspects of, and shot entirely within, the city of Asbury Park. The challenge asks filmmakers to include a supplied theme and line of dialogue, a prop native to Asbury Park, and one specific location within the city – the prompt keeps all the contestants on a level playing field. With its rich history and coastal allure, the city provides ample material for gripping narratives and documentaries. In essence, the APin3 Film Challenge aligns perfectly with Asbury Park’s artistic legacy and the potential for cultural celebrations that use the film short in unforgettable ways.
APAC president Mike Sodano said: “Last year was our first year, and we set up the auditorium for about, oh, 40-50 chairs. We got close to 100 people to attend! The reception was overwhelming. It was so much fun and very heartwarming. When the filmmakers get up and give their one-minute pitch as to why they did what they did, it’s an insight into the filmmaking process that audiences don’t really get a chance to hear very often. Each story becomes a different kind of love letter to Asbury Park. It’s a different perspective on the city. Filmmakers manage to find locations in the city and document them on film – places that a lot of people never even knew existed. You go ‘gee whiz! Where is that? I’ve never seen that from that angle.’ It’s a unique interpretation of the city. Seeing Asbury as illustrated in a 3-minute film really opens the eyes of the audience. It’s incredibly enjoyable.
“The goal of the challenge is really to elevate filmmaking in Asbury Park. The city is known obviously for music. Bruce Springsteen, and all the groups that came out of it, and it’s known for other visual arts. But we’re trying to give the art of filmmaking in Asbury Park a focus and a spotlight. We give the filmmakers a theme, a line of dialogue, a prop that must be included in the film. The film has to be no more than 3 minutes long and shot over the course of the three-week challenge.”
We asked APin3 organizer Nancy Sabino what makes the perfect APin3 entry: “I think it’s a combination of addressing the theme, getting in all the elements, and doing it in the most clever way possible,” she said. “It’s the use of the techniques and filmmaking that really sings to me personally. The use of exceptional editing techniques and a variety of storytelling- that’s how you get your 3-minute story across. I think it’s a great opportunity for filmmakers who never tried their hand at making a film to venture into this world and team together and play with film.
“Everybody who we’ve talked to who’s entered past or present has said it’s a lot of fun, and they really enjoy doing it. We think it’s a great match between our love of Asbury Park and filmmaking. Filmmakers who may not have experienced that yet get to put the city they love on screen. It’s a combination of texture, community and opportunity,” continued Sabino. “It’s an incredibly welcoming city. You’re able to walk the streets and go into shops and just start talking to people. You get an incredible sense of community. If you have an idea, Asbury Park is a great place for growing that idea because you get immediate feedback, whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent! It’s an incredible breeding ground for creativity and opportunity.
“The judging is sort of like a casting session. You know you know it when you see it, and it hits you over the head as being one of the best. This year, we were very fortunate, and we got a lot of great selections that were really clever and creative. For us, that’s humbling. To know that so many people could get it right and do it differently because each selection has a different slant to it.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the entire community into this event. Everyone can come. It’s a free event, and tickets will be available soon. Come meet the storytellers of the future and those that are applying their trade currently. It’s a wonderful thing to see Asbury Park interpreted in so many different ways on the big screen, and we hope to continue the challenge with the support of our amazing community.”
The films will be screened at the House of Independents on October 22. The event is free, but reservations are required. The top three winners, and an audience favorite entry chosen by the assembled audience on the premier night, will be given prizes. It will also be a networking event for local filmmakers, a test of creative skill, and a source of feedback for filmmakers. If you’re a filmmaker, sound tech, actor, director, or simply love film, don’t miss it.
Female-Centric Film Festival Coming to Asbury Park This October
The Bread and Roses Film Festival
The Bread and Roses Film Festival Will Showcase Women Filmmakers
The first ever female-centric film festival to grace the Jersey Shore is coming to Asbury Park on October 6 and 7, 2023. The Bread and Roses Film Festival (BRFF) will showcase 40 films by women, from 10 different countries, featuring narrative and documentary films, as well as animation, experimental shorts, and music videos.
To kick things off, an opening reception is taking place at the Parlor Gallery from 6pm to 9pm on Friday, October 6th – this is a non-ticketed event, and everyone is welcome to join.
Films will then be screened throughout the day on October 7th (12pm to 10pm) at the Showroom Cinema in downtown Asbury. This is a ticketed event – $30 for an all-access badge, which includes branded merchandise. The official after party will take place at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel’s Bar & Lounge, featuring an exclusive, discounted cocktail for BRFF attendees.
“I founded Bread & Roses in the summer of 2022, when it became even more glaringly obvious simply how much female voices still need protection, support, and celebration,” said Marci Mazzarotto, founder, and executive director of Bread & Roses. “The film industry remains a space dominated by white, cisgendered men, and BRFF’s mission is to elevate women’s voices from beyond the baseline and into the spotlight.”
The Bread and Roses Film Festival, which is run by an all-female team and is 100 percent curated by a panel of all-female judges, is proudly supported by Georgian Court University, as well as Precipice Collective, the festival’s non-profit fiscal sponsor.
Get Tickets Now!
Suzanne Anan
triCityNews
Local weekly paper covering regional news and events gets an interview with artist Suzanne Anan. by Tara Collins AKA Twisted T
Polar Opposites in Belmar
When I first saw Suzanne’s beach life paintings in a group show at the Parlor Gallery, I fell in love with them. They were not your typical “Jersey Shore Beach Art”. You know, the typical “Sunsets and Sailboats”, they were snapshots of beach moments and the lifeguard life of Belmar beach. Not sure what I mean? Close your eyes and imagine being kicking back on the beach reading this on a busy, hot and steamy Saturday in late July. What do you see? You see a Suzanne Anan painting! However, the next time Suzanne was in a Parlor show, I saw a completely different side of Suzanne’s work, a more dark, romantic, sensually strong poetic side with the subject based on her favorite poems and literature.
Tell me about your art background.
In my younger years, I enjoyed drawing. A health issue kept me home and I found comfort spending my days drawing to my heart’s content. In college, I earned a BFA from Kean University with a concentration in Design. My last class was an elective for painting. It was a first level course in stretching canvases and mixing paint
After graduation, I longed to find purpose for art making. I was managing a group of designers at the Asbury Park Press. Shortly thereafter, I wound up taking a position at the Star-Ledger as an illustrator/designer. I was not getting enough creativity managing others and this position. I decided on a whim to apply for a master’s degree at NYU in a study abroad program in Venice, Italy. I knew it would be a stretch to get accepted being that I lacked a formal fine art background in painting. I didn’t let it stop me. I poured my whole heart into my cover letter and sent my application off with art samples. It was a long and agonizing wait but, I was accepted. Now the real trick was explaining to my boss that I was leaving a job I loved for two years to live in Italy to pursue a master’s degree. It was the best experience of my life!
What inspires you?
I get so inspired from reading poetry. There is usually one line in a poem that captures my attention and I turn it into a painting. For example, for my painting, “The Terrace in the Snow” I took inspiration from the last lines of a Chinese poem by Su Tung P’O, “The icicles on the eves, drone in the wind like the swords of murderers”. Another example, “The Dark Night” inspiration came from a poem by St. John of the Cross, “I stood and forgot who I was, my face leaning against Him, everything stopped, abandoned me, my worldliness was gone, forgotten among the white lilies.”
You paint in two completely different content styles with the beach pieces and the more poetic pieces. Do you find you paint more of the lifeguard / beach scenes in the summer?
I find myself completely absorbed with summer living. Yes, my attention is completely focused on what surrounds me. I am in progress of creating several scenes of the shore, lifeguards and all the beauty and colors associated with these very vivid scenes. I have so many images in my head that I hope to have enough time in my life to get them all out.
Being a Monmouth County artist, what would you like to see happen in our county art community?
I would like to see a Monmouth County artist network or database created. One that lists your skill, your location, your style of art and your interest in work or volunteering. Whether or not you would like to donate or receive work for payment, this is a great opportunity for collaboration. For example, I volunteer and give away almost as much as I get paid. Personally, I try to keep that balance. There are many an occasion that people ask me about a mural artist or, perhaps a portrait painter, maybe someone specifically who would volunteer for Liz’ Linen’s or Mary’s Place to help a 501c3 create a portrait of a sick loved one, or a mural in someone’s bedroom who is convalescing. This type of project could be part of a volunteer organization’s budget, who fundraised to fulfill their mission. Another example would be mentoring younger artists. This type of one-stop network can build a stronger community of volunteerism and a great source for future prospects for work.
Eleanor James
triCityNews
Local weekly paper covering regional news and events gets an interview with artist Eleanor James. by Tara Collins AKA Twisted T
Years ago, yours truly owned a punk rock/rockabilly/vintage and consignment clothing store called, B Unique Clothing on the “Arts Bloc” of Cookman Avenue in downtown Asbury Park. Next door to me was Heaven Art & Antiques. Whilst chatting outside our shops, Malcolm Navias, in his exquisite and cultured South African accent would greet customers by saying, “Welcome to Heaven!” while I would welcome folks to…the other option – that was darker, louder and scarier! In case you were unaware, there is gallery space on the second floor of the shop. On Saturday, April 29th, Heaven is hosting an opening reception for a solo show titled, “Unconditional” showcasing the art of Farmingdale artist, Eleanor James.
Tell me about your art background? Art School or Self-Taught?
At age 13, I remember locking myself in my small bedroom with a canvas in front of my face, listening to Janis Joplin and feeling at home in my creative space. My focus on art and design really started blossoming from then. Before going to Rutgers to get my degree in Landscape Architecture, I went to Brookdale and took several art classes in painting, color theory, figure drawing and 2D design where I learned skills and technique from some amazing teachers. My work after that has been self-taught and continues to evolve through a lot of experimentation.
What brought you to create the art that you make?
Death and Love have been the main driving factors in my work for many years. I have had the challenge of losing a lot of my dear friends and family members to drug overdoses and suicides. Being introduced to this kind of loss at a young age made life seem fragile and temporary. There have been many times for me, and all of us, when we have a choice in life: to fall into the pain and darkness or to find the beauty and carry on. On some days the darkness creeps in and tries to take over. My work reflects this fight within me and within us all to stand up over and over again, day after day, to find the light and the magic in this world.
“Unconditional” is the word I have chosen to reflect this never-ending battle of love and loss. My work shows this juxtaposition of dark and light and presents the challenge within us all to love ourselves and one another.
What is your process with your art making?
My emotions are the driving force behind my art. My process of creation usually starts with music and an itch of sorts. I lock myself into my studio and invite my dear friends to join (Cat Power, Radiohead, Chopin, T-Rex, Velvet Underground, etc.). I work in watercolor and ink or acrylic and ink mostly and have two differing processes for each. Similarities of the two mediums include setting down my base tone, often yellow ochre, and sketching out the concept. Backdrops often consist of calmness, soft landscapes and an ease of movement. This portion of my painting sometimes takes on a life of its own. There is a freedom here that isn’t planned or set to a reference. It’s an expression of mood and rhythm.
I then move on to my subject which is often a skeletal or botanical study and requires extreme focus and precision. Knowing how and when to apply control and when to apply a lack of control is paramount in creating my pieces. I appreciate both parts of the process, just as I try to appreciate the ebbs and flows of life. Some pieces will be created in a few hours (watercolors) where some of the larger acrylic pieces can take years to finalize. I find joy in it all and will not allow anything to take away from my love of creating art. Art is MY space to bare my soul, to laugh, cry, shout and scream.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by the contrasting energies of the earth. I am inspired by a delicate wind or raging tornado, a delicate beam of sunlight or scorching desert heat. I am inspired by all of nature in its power and wonder.
What would you like to see happen in the Monmouth County art community?
Since I am a Landscape Architect by trade, I am pretty new in the art world. I thought working with seasoned contractors was hard, but it seems easy in comparison to emerging in the art world. It’s overwhelming and can at times seem very closed off. I am very happy when I see galleries (like Heaven) that create opportunities for emerging artists! It’s so great to hear that we have high level artists involved in juried shows. I would love to see more of that in Monmouth County! I would also love to see galleries engage and offer local residencies to our native folk and to see the community work together to promote one another.
Eleanor’s art can be found on:
- IG: @EleanorJamesArt
- www.eleanorjames.com
Multiplying The Cultural Power of Asbury Park
TriCityNews
Local weekly paper covering regional news and events covers Arts & Culture Plan Adopted into City's Master Plan
A Potential to Multiply the Cultural Power of Our City
Independent Asbury Park Arts Council Leads The Initiative - TriCity News March 16, 2023
ASBURY PARK — The battle against conformity brought on by the pres-sures of an economic boom is one that our beloved little city will always have to fight.
Asbury Park’s destiny was always to come back, with arts and culture leading the way. That happened. The challenge is to make sure that’s preserved.
So far, Asbury Park has stayed ahead of that curve. New people contin-ue to get involved with arts and culture. Even more importantly, strong leadership has develop in Asbury Park to defend and promote the arts.
A great example is the non-profit Asbury Park Arts Council (APAC). The group just achieved success with its first major project: Passage of the Asbury Park Arts and Culture Plan by the Planning Board last month, which means it becomes part of the city’s master plan.
That’s not just some geeky government thing. Being a part of the city’s master plan — the legal document that guides zoning decisions and other planning priorities — gives the Arts and Culture Plan credibility, both inside and outside Asbury Park. And that can multiply the city’s cultural power.
The Arts and Culture Plan can lead to more grant awards. It will become a guide for policy decisions, including zoning decisions. The plan identifies various underutilized assets and determines how the city can maximize their effectiveness for the arts. And the plan makes recom-mendations for arts and culture activities in various parts of the city, which may have different needs to serve.
The Arts and Culture plan lists several action items, two of which we find particularly noteworthy: establishing a funding stream for arts and culture, and a community culture center.
The funding stream can be a modest dedicated art tax that taxpayers probably wouldn’t even notice, but could generate a low six figure reve-nue for art. Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn has been for that, and the adop-tion of the arts plan will hopefully now hasten the art tax placement on the ballot for voter approval. Meanwhile, the community culture center may indeed come about once it’s recognized as a city-wide priority as per the Arts and Culture plan. (We’d love to see the city grab the beauti-ful old bank building, now vacant, across from City Hall for this purpose.)
Also noteworthy is who put the plan together. Here’s the Asbury Park Arts Council board: Parlor Gallery owner Jenn Hampton (also the curator for the popular Wooden Walls mural project on the boardwalk), former ShowRoom owner Mike Sodano, Paul McEvily from Interfaith Neighbors, Paranormal Books owner Kathy Kelly, attorney and arts activist Bob Ellis, and Carrie Turner, formerly the General Manager of Madison Marquette’s boardwalk project. Turner also serves as acting Executive Director and coordi-nated the development of the Arts and Culture plan. Another recognized talent local to Asbury Park — planner Eric Galipo, who grew up in the city — served as the planning professional working with Turner to lead the development of the plan. Funding to develop the Arts and Culture Plan came initially from a seed grant from Monmouth Arts and then a grant awarded by the county government.
“It’s a powerful tool. It’s a roadmap,” said Turner about the plan.
“It focuses thinking about the city’s cultural assets and it identifies ways to im-prove and safeguard them,” she said. “It lays out recommendation and it shows the city how it could achieve the goals it set up for itself.”
(You can read the Arts and Culture Plan, and find out more about the Asbury Park Arts Council, by visiting the group’s website at asburyparkartscouncil.org.)
Because the Arts and Culture Plan is now part of the city’s master plan, “it has some heft,” Turner said. “It may not be binding, but it has significance. The city has now acknowledged the information collected, the synthesis of that collec-tion and the recommendations from the information and feedback. A lot of people got involved.”
Asbury Park is already recognized as an arts and culture center in New Jersey. Those outside in the arts field — particularly funders large and small who back the arts, like government entities and non-profit foundations — will understand the significance of a professionally well-developed Arts and Culture Plan ad-opted into the city’s master plan. Especially as objectives of the plan are met.
Turner said the Arts and Culture Plan is an example of “how the public and private sectors can work together to achieve the city’s goals.” The Arts Council wants to continue that momentum to help implement the plan itself, she said.
The Arts Council compiled a ton of data to develop the Arts and Culture Plan. A survey it developed was answered by 153 people. Twenty-three interviews were conducted with leading policymakers and arts stakeholders. Five focus groups were conducted, along with one public open house.
The information gathering led to some important results. For example, 48 per-cent of survey respondents indicated that the cost of arts events and programs limit their participation. Another finding was that 71 percent of survey respon-dents indicated they don’t learn about arts activities in time.
The Arts Council also did an inventory of what our 1.75 square mile city offers. The group counted 180 creators and contributors; 80 venues, places and fa-cilities for arts and culture; and 60 regular events and programs. That’s pretty wild.
How impressive is that? The data shows how remarkable Asbury Park remains in terms of its cultural power and influence, despite its small size. Leaders like those at the Asbury Park Arts Council — developing such projects as the Arts and Culture Plan — is how we keep it that way.
Vanessa Maestri Armadillo
triCityNews
Local weekly paper covering regional news and events gets an interview with artist Vanessa Maestri Armadillo. by Tara Collins AKA Twisted T
One afternoon at Christmastime, I was wandering around the magnificent Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove. This building has an incredible story that hopefully we will see printed in this rag one day (hint! hint!). I was admiring the architecture and all the creative businesses that rent studios there. The studios are former classrooms in this Victorian era architectural award-winning former school. When I happened upon the Armadillo Tintype Photography Studio, I needed to know more and reached out to its proprietor, Vanessa Maestri. Vanessa invited me to her studio for a chat, photographed me with her vintage 1900’s camera and then showed me the developing process which was fascinating to watch!
Tell me about your art background? Art School or Self-Taught?
I am mostly self-taught. I did one semester at my county college for Photography before I realized that setting was not the right learning environment for me. I continued working at it on my own with the academic pressure off.
What brought you to create the art that you make? I found it by accident.
I saw work in this process by another (female) photographer, Joni Sternbach, in a magazine. It was so strikingly different from the photography we are used to seeing. I felt compelled to learn it. Once I understood how different the process is from traditional photography and also how autonomous it is, I was hooked. It completely changed my approach to photography and how I see the world.
What is your process with your art making?
A lot of my ideas are inspired by paintings, cinema and design. I keep a notebook where I flesh out ideas I want to try and I sketch. I have a lot of ideas I’ve tried that didn’t end up working out. I would say 75% of what I work on doesn’t see the light of day! I try not to get discouraged, it’s all part of creating work with your hands, it’s imperfect.
Wet-plate process is one of the oldest photographic processes dating back to the early 1850’s. It was used during the Civil War and through the later part of the 19th century. While I love history, that is not what attracted me to this process. The images are made using an emulsion that isn’t sensitive to panchromatic light (what our eyes see), so it has a really haunting way of capturing people and scenery. My hands are on the plate through the entire process making it a truly handmade image. There is nothing quite like it.
Can you explain the development process?
The process is wet plate collodion. I mix two salts with a syrupy substance called, collodion (which is cotton dissolved in nitric acid) and apply it to a metal plate. When submerged in a bath of liquid silver, the salts applied to the plate become silver halides rendering the plate sensitive to light. The plate is then exposed in the camera and upon development will become a direct positive image. The images are one of a kind.
Wet plate collodion became less popular in the late 19th century when dry plates were introduced. This eliminated the need for plates to be immediately developed and did not require a mobile darkroom to be carried along for on-site or traveling photography.
How do you think the community can better support their artists?
I’d love to see the art community come together in a co-op setting where all the artists involved are accountable for planning, setting up and cleaning up for an event. Mentorship programs for young students in the area by more established artists within the community would be lovely as well.
What would you like to see happen in the Monmouth County art community?
I look at these vacant buildings at Sandy Hook and the hotels in the area and think of the artist residencies in hotels like The Object Hotel in Arizona and the Pfister Hotel in Minnesota. I can’t help but think of the opportunities we could have here for area artists. I would love to see the large business’s, state parks and hotels carve out space for artist residencies and art instruction.
It would be great to see a space where working artists could have subsidized affordable rent and/or no fee shows and a cooperative communal space where each of them was held accountable to keep clean and beautiful.
Find Vanessa’s Tintype photography at:
-
- IG: @armadillotintype
- Web: armadillotintype.com
- Her studio is located at the Jersey Shore Arts Center (a.k.a. “The Old Neptune High School”)
Asbury Park Dance Fest
njArts.net
All Arts, All New Jersey
Asbury Park Dance Fest featured array of great performances on nightclub stage
written by ROBERT JOHNSON August 29, 2023
Where does the dance scene go when audiences are on vacation? One place seems to be Asbury Park, where a crowd gathered at House of Independents on Aug. 27 for the latest edition of the Asbury Park Dance Festival.
Though visitors to the Shore might regard this fundraising gala as a mere interlude between frosty cocktails and dips in the surf, the dancing is seriously good. A team of Paul Taylor alumni organize these events to raise money for Arts Ed NJ (previously known as the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership), and this year’s program featured major talents and a terrific range of styles.
While most of the dances shown on this club’s small stage were duets, there was no shortage of variety. It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast, for instance, than the one between tapper Dario Natarelli and a pair of gutsy Pilobolus veterans, Casey Howes and Jake Warren, now with Leggy Bones Physical Theater Company.
In an atmospheric sketch choreographed with Michelle Dorrance, Natarelli wistfully addressed onstage cellist Derek Louie as Louie played a transcription of the yearning Gershwin melody, “The Man I Love.” Natarelli gently pawed the floor and appeared to dream. Gliding around the stage, and swooping low, he worked himself up to a tapping outburst that stood for passion.
Howes and Warren displayed no such delicacy. Their piece, “Chaos Theory,” portrayed a grappling, rough-and-tumble relationship. Howes flew by the seat of her pants as Warren grabbed her by the belt and swung her in circles. She clambered up one side of her partner and down the other and wrapped her legs around his head, vise-like. This was love as a form of martial arts, tempered by a sense of humor and the characters’ romantic confusion.
Considerably more subtle, but similarly with no holds barred, was Doug Varone’s “Maybe,” performed by members of his company. Set to the rhythm of the torch song of that name by Janis Joplin, the movement here was alternately languid and abrupt, appearing wonderfully spontaneous as Courtney Barth and Ryan Yamauchi chased each other around the stage, making unpredictable connections. Near the end, a truce was reached. Barth offered her hand to Yamauchi (“Whoa, if I could ever hold your little hand,” the lyrics go), and when the dancers lifted their arms forming an arc overhead, we knew this couple would be OK.
Michael Francis McBride and Samuel Lee Roberts, both veterans of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, offered the duet “Strange Humors,” choreographed by Robert Battle. This piece flirts with danger, its orderly composition seemingly at risk from the dancers’ zany impulses. McBride and Roberts crouched and dodged; Roberts’ knees wobbled, and together the men suddenly fell flat. Yet we had no cause to fear — these wild men might skirt the edge of sanity, but they would never lose control. Even in a romp like “Strange Humors,” these powerful performers moved with elegance and grace.
“This Bitter Earth” is a neo-classical piece by Christopher Wheeldon. Complicating its sentimental mood, and the usual balletic swooning, were subtle movements in which the duet partners sharply turned their heads to the side. Added to a supporting pose with clasped hands, this motif oddly suggested two people locking together (click!). Other incidents, including the ballerina’s seductive approach to her partner at the beginning and her surprise directional change near the end, hinted at the drama in the accompanying text, and in Max Richter’s lugubrious score. New Jersey Ballet’s Denise Parungao and Joshuan Vásquez gave a limpid performance.
These were the highlights, but far from the only attractions at this year’s festival, where the offerings ranged from hip-hop to flamenco and beyond. Additional participants included Andrea Yorita and Zachary Kapeluck of BalletX; Gallim Dance’s Marc Anthony Gutierrez and India Hobbs; Georgina Pazcoguin dancing Bob Fosse; Sun Kim; and Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández.
A special shoutout goes to Lorenzo Pagano, a star of the Martha Graham Dance Company, who brought his luscious physicality to the “Sun” solo from “Canticle for Innocent Comedians.”
The Bread and Roses Film Festival
The Bread and Roses Film Festival
Elevating Women’s Voices
The Bread and Roses Film Festival is a female-centric film festival dedicated to showcasing, supporting, and celebrating the brilliant and talented cis and trans women working behind the camera in key creative roles like writer and/or director, though we do love to see films that feature a mostly female production crew. Students are also welcome!
BRFF is run by an all-female team and is 100% curated by a panel of all-female judges, who are particularly interested in elevating marginalized voices (e.g., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC), as well as wide range of stories centering on any of the many social justice issues around the globe. Added bonus if the film is fully produced in the state of New Jersey.
BRFF officially kicks off at the Jersey Shore in the Fall of 2023 with a small and mighty force, including one full day of film screenings (10/07), as well as an opening reception the night before (10/06).
Submit/Register To FilmFreeway
Elevating Women’s Voices
QSpot - The Return of QFest Film Festival
QFEST LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL SEPT. 22-24
QSpot LGBTQ Community Center proudly announces the return of QFest LGBTQ Film & Digital Media Festival, the original annual LGBTQ film festival in New Jersey.
Produced by QSpot, one of New Jersey’s largest LGBTQ community centers, QFest will screen Friday, Sept. 22 -Sunday, Sept. 24 in Asbury Park.
QFest strives to support and promote LGBTQ film and digital media, the individuals who create it, and the people and stories they highlight. Festival submissions must have content about or connection to the LGBTQ community with preference given to unreleased projects, work by NJ residents, and work that exemplifies artistic expression, education and inclusion.
QFest recognizes and salutes the contributions that LGBTQ individuals make to the media landscape and world culture and provides a venue where people can share film and media which might not otherwise be seen.
From Drab Walls to Color, Creativity
The Coaster
Area artists painted these murals on the Asbury Park Sewage Treatment Plant - by WILLIAM CLARK
Area artists painted these murals on the Asbury Park Sewage Treatment Plant.
The Coaster, Aug 9, 2023
What began as just the drab, brown bricks of the Asbury Park Wastewater Treatment Facility became four vibrant murals for beachgoers and those driving along Kingsley Street.
The continuation of the collaboration between the city’s Public Arts Commission and the Asbury Park Arts Council has brought murals from artists Judith Hull, Chloe Evangelista, Jude Harzer and Zachary Manning to the east side of the building, as part of a project that started last year.
“In the fall we opened up submissions for the four panels that face the water,” Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said. “We received over 75 submissions from artists and we picked four, including two local arts.”
The goal, according to Quinn, is to one day have the entire building covered in artistic works.
The project is funded by the city’s Public Arts Commission but received help from the Arts Council when it came to choose submissions that would grace the walls for residents and visitors. The Arts Council also provided financial assistance to bridge the gap for part of the project.
Jenn Hampton, chair of the Public Arts Commission, said that the members of the commission each picked their top 10 which didn’t provide much overlap.
“Barely any of them matched,” Hampton admitted.
As the process moved forward, they took special care to give priority to local artists from the city itself.
In the end, Hampton was thrilled with the choices the commission made.
“This year was interesting because we chose different skill sets, backgrounds and aesthetics,” Hampton said.
Evangelista of Ocean Township chose to show the activity of the boardwalk from a different perspective, creating a mural of different legs and feet as they pass by.
Hampton, an admitted extrovert, appreciated how another person may see the world a bit differently.
The youngest of the muralists, Evangelista impressed Hampton as she saw her move through the work putting the piece together.
“Watching her excel so well will give her the confidence boost to do it again,” Hampton said. “I think she’s really good.”
This project was the second time Hull worked with the art commission. Last year Hull, provided a timely piece on Ukraine. This year she focused on the ocean creating a striking blue fish surrounded by colorful sea plants.
“It’s a motif we are all really familiar with,” Hampton said.
Harzer, an art teacher from Brick Memorial High School, made her contribution to the wall after helping students fill the halls of the school with their murals.
Harzer was also a second time participant of the project.
“She was also more confident and excited,” Hampton said.
Hampton said that Harzer, a Brick Township resident, has one of the only programs within a school that helps support student muralists.
Finally, mixing art and science is Manning’s piece.
“He had an online quiz where he would ask you five questions asking you rate how you feel about certain things,” Hampton said. “He took all the responses and created an algorithm to create the design.”
Hampton appreciates the participatory nature of Manning’s piece which is titled Life in Color.
“It’s a beautiful color palette and really nice to see something different in terms of an artist’s process,” Hampton said.
Manning also lives in Asbury Park.
The Wastewater Treatment Facility is located along the oceanfront north of Convention Hall.