Trenton Public Library celebrates late artist Tom Malloy

By Dan auBrey

He was the lone artist on the streets of Trenton in the 1970s.

That was when the city was feeling the pains of the changes that had begun decades earlier with the post-World War II ideals of suburban living and urban renewal — or more re-engineering.

The latter included decimating neighborhoods to create highways and sleek new office buildings.

But those heady dreams were no match for the winds of shifting economic interests, inconsistent political will, and social and racial inequality that gave Trenton the proverbial one-two punch.

By 1968 — the year of the Trenton riots — the city was seeing a continuing exodus of people who had the means — and more than often than not, the skin color — that would enable them to socially move “up” by moving out of the city.

And while during that time the New Jersey State Museum and Trenton War Memorial were both still operating, the artistic landscape had dramatically changed.

That was especially true after Mercer

County Community College moved its art program to West Windsor and effectively broke a long-term tie with art making that began in 1901 with the School of Industrial Arts.

But it was also then that the lone man of African ancestry became a familiar figure who could be seen sketching and painting Trenton buildings and streets.

And it was in that solitary process that the late Thomas Malloy — aka Tom Malloy — created hundreds of watercolors that captured the rhythms, tones, and spirt of the city during a specific time — and helped start an arts movement that continues today.

And, as a new exhibition at the Trenton Free Public Library suggests, he did it with love and art.

As various articles and a book, “Blending Colors From Life: Trenton’s Own Watercolorist, Tom Malloy,” report, Malloy was born into a family of South Carolina sharecroppers on August 23, 1912. His ancestry included black slaves, whites, and Native Americans.

His family moved to Trenton in 1923 when his father found work in a rubber factory. There, the future artist attend- today was cultivated in Philadelphia, New York, and the places between.

“We have a few artists who are somewhat historic, and we like to have some of those original artists,” he says, adding another historic reference. “It’s the 50th anniversary of hip hop this year. We always had all the elements the hip hop.”

Taking stock of the current crop of art appearing on streets and walls, Rainbow says, “People are getting better and better. A lot more than a name (the writing of letters), it is a mural. More fine art elements are being added into the mix. Not that it is new, but people are pushing that more.”

However, he adds, “It is like Instagram, the best and worst kind of thing. You have a lot of people doing it, but you have lost some of the regionality of graffiti.

“When I was starting up, you had to seek it out. You had to go down alleys and railways tracks. But now you can see it online in Japan and France. That’s inspiring, but there were a lot of regional styles that were unique to different cities — Philadelphia and Los Angeles. A lot of the styles unique to certain regions have spread out around the world.

“A lot of people don’t know the history of the style. Certain people did things for certain reasons, but now that is lost — lost in translation.”

About the Trenton style, he says, “We have gotten some styles that have come from New York and some from Philadelphia, and we have generated our own style — a hybrid. We have done a lot in our own right.”

Moving to the dollars and cents of the project, Rainbow says, “Since it is a free event, no one gets paid. In the past we had a few headliners but were able to raise enough money to do that. We have a break dancing ed and graduated from Trenton public schools and found work at several Trenton-area companies, including John A. Roebling and the Trenton Box Company, from which he retired.

He also became involved with Cadwalader-Asbury Methodist Church in Trenton where he was a lay minister and demonstrated a spirituality that included a reverence for the natural and human world.

Although he had shown an early inclination to draw on anything he could, including a stick scratching the dirt, he only began to pursue art in the 1950s — through a correspondence course.

It was also during that time that he married a nurse named Dorothy, who encouraged him to follow to follow his interest in city history and architecture through painting.

In addition to creating works for himself, he also created works for various home and business owners.

Eventually he amassed a body of work and realized his first exhibition at the Trenton Free Public Library in 1967.

Although he would exhibit in the tristate region and sometimes paint differ- ent environments, he generally stayed rooted in Trenton, where he found both inspiration and connection.

With works featuring Trenton becoming part of public collections, including the Trenton City Museum and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Malloy’s art and the City of Trenton became so connected that in 2001, he was named Trenton’s artist laureate. A gallery at the Trenton City Museum was also named in his honor.

A recipient of an honorary doctorate from Rider University, Dr. Malloy died on August 16, 2008.

See MALLOY, page 11 lot of (Trenton events) may have come off from starting this event. Not that we had anything to do with it, but people saw this type of event and saw that we could do it and others said we could try that. In some ways we laid the groundwork for some of the events.”

And, he adds, it has helped the city become known for quality art and attracts strong artists from different states and countries.

“When I traveled in California and Texas, a lot of people know about it. In a lot of ways this event has put jersey and Trenton on the map. That is something I pride myself on — to have a sense of quality and work with the community.” competition, but we have to raise funds.

“In the past years we were able to raise money for paint and stuff like that, but it hasn’t worked out. A lot of funding has been cut recently.”

He says one big difference between producing in Trenton and other cities is that “we are not in a major market. It isn’t like Philadelphia or New York City where national brands — Adidas or Pepsi — are willing to jump on it and possibly sponsor.”

He shrugs off the difficulties and in a year that has seen several regular city events cancelled — including Art All Night and the First Friday Events — he’s moving ahead, but not without some reflection.

“There are times every year, I question (coordinating the festival), but I feel it is important to the arts and culture and the city. There isn’t a lot of hip hop stuff. And a lot people look for it.

Putting the Jam’s effort in context, Rainbow says, “A

Additionally, he says he’s learned some life lessons in the process. One is that consistency and persistence brings results. Another is the reminder to “treat everyone as you want to be treated and create a positive environment. If you create a positive environment, people will treat you positively.”

“And for my art — I’ve definitely grown a lot from what I first started. I met people from all over and learned different styles and grew from the festival.”

Now sitting at a partially umbrella-shaded picnic table in the TerraCycle courtyard jumbled with equipment, materials, and cannisters, an unperturbed Rainbow says, “I would like to expand on (the jam), but I haven’t figured out the right way to do it. We don’t want to charge for the event, so it is very welcoming and everyone can come.”

He looks down at the table and says, “It is tough. But I’ve been doing it for 18 years. Until I find a good reason to stop, I don’t know why I should.”

Jersey Fresh Jam, TerraCycle, New York Avenue. Saturday, August 19, noon to 7 p.m. Free. www.jerseyfreshjam.com.

Storytelling and Voice Sound Loud at Grounds for Sculpture

BY REBEKAH SCHROEDER

If you concentrate on a story, staying mindful of its nature as a living, breathing vessel for keeping traditions alive or unpacking trauma, then you might be able to hear when the speaker, once given the chance to share without judgment and forge interpersonal connections, exhales in relief. The words used still have meaning but no longer bear their heavy weight alone, newly empowered by a mutual sense of community and revitalized by human interaction.

Everyone has the right to express themselves in their own syntax, but only a few people have the opportunity to amplify that point of view with complete control over the language used.

Reaching that loud volume, like any tale worth telling, is always better with company.

The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton presents this platform to members of New Jersey’s Indian diasporic community for “Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits,” a living exhibit that opened on the ground floor of the Domestic Arts Building on April 23, 2023, and runs through January 7, 2024.

This project, along with “Spiral Q: The Parade” on the upper level, are the first to debut in GFS’ new “Perspectives” series, which draws from the creative practices of the artists at its helm as well as the accounts of the people who bring it to life.

Madhusmita “Madhu” Bora, a folk and traditional artist, journalist, educator, writer, and dancer, organized the exhibit in partnership with co-curators Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, the chief audience officer at GFS, and Quentin Williams, the founder and CEO of Dragon Tree Media Group, to ensure personal autonomy and authenticity.

The 15 subjects actively participated in and led the process of chronicling their lived experiences, doing so through video interviews, photography, and by choosing objects that held significance to them.

This range of deep, emotive stories maintains the vulnerabilities that make them unique without being exploited, and the exhibit leaders hope to bridge the conversational gap between individuals of different backgrounds and demonstrate the importance of dialogue.

Upstairs, “Spiral Q” conveys the creativSee Local Voices, Page 4

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From Local Voices, Page 2 ity behind activism via puppets and protests, with the Philadelphia-based group organizing processions on social issues from transgender rights to affordable housing.

Virtual walkthroughs of both exhibits are available online, with the “Local Voices” page on the GFS website, groundsforsculpture.org/exhibitions/local-voices-memories-stoaries-and-portraits, linking to the YouTube videos and audio-only interview segments for each storyteller.

“Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits,” on display in the Domestic Arts Building at the Grouds for Sculpture, left, is co-curated by artist Madhusmita “Madhu” Bora, a journalist and dancer, right, and runs through January 7, 2024. Installation view courtesy of Bruce M. White. Bora, pictured at the storytelling retreat, courtesy of Monica Herndon.

According to the exhibit materials, Grounds for Sculpture developed this project in response to the museum’s 2021 audience demographic census, which revealed a correlation between its attendees and the

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United States Census for those who selfidentified as Asian.

To interact and engage with a specific community from that group, GFS collaborated on an exhibit in which people could

Expanding Territory