PAPER CRANE PROJECT: On view in the Taplin Gallery at the Arts Council of Princeton through August 29, this installation of 10,000+ colorful paper cranes contributed by the community is a celebration of love, eternal strength, and the resiliency of the human spirit.
Princeton Paper Crane Project at Arts Council
T he Pr inceton Paper Crane Project, on view at the Arts Council of Princeton through August 29, is a celebration of love, eternal strength, and resiliency of the human spirit. The project was developed in the spring of 2020, when a symbol of hope was needed most. Led by Miya Table and Home, the Princeton Paper Crane Project is an exercise of hope and healing. In Japanese culture, the crane is a symbol of longevity and peace. Senbazuru (a thousand cranes ) is a well-known tradition in Japan that promises to grant a wish to anyone who folds 1,000 cranes. Miya and the Arts Council, with support from Ross Wishnick, invited the community to par ticipate by folding and donating paper cranes to this public art installation. The Arts Council says it was “blown away by the enthusiasm of our neighbors, families, and friends old and new as cranes began pouring in by beginner and experienced folders alike.” Pa r t i c ip a nt s we r e e n couraged to decorate their cranes with images, special messages, or names of loved ones to make a personalized wish.
The installation in the Taplin Gallery features 10,000+ colorful paper cranes. The Arts Council of Princeton is located at 102 Witherspoon St reet. G aller y hours are Tuesday through Friday 1:30-4:30 p.m. and Saturday 12-4 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.
“Murals on Front Street” Project Returns to Trenton
Trenton Downtown Association (TDA) has announced that it received a $25K grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) to support continued community-based arts programming, including the popular “Murals on Front Street” project. This much-needed financial boost has made it possible for TDA to partner with Trenton artist Leon “Rain” Rainbow for the fourth consecutive year in bringing live mural painting to Front and Broad Streets in downtown Trenton. Murals on Front Street gives different artists each week a chance to transform boardedup panels of an old parking garage into striking, meaningful works of art. The live painting began on July 30 and will continue with new murals created by a dozen local artists through September 20. “We are overwhelmed by
the support we have received over the years from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts,” said Meaghan Singletary, development and project manager for TDA. “This year we are especially grateful to have the opportunity to redirect funds originally slated for the Levitt AMP Trenton Music Series concerts in a way that positively impacts our community and shines a light on Trenton when the city needs it most.” For the past three years, live mural painting took place on Front and Broad streets in Trenton during the Levitt AMP Trenton Music Series, a TDA-sponsored series of 10 free concerts in Mill Hill Park, located downtown. “O u r g o a l h a s a l w ay s been to reach a wide audience through art that resonates on multiple levels. By painting during the concerts, which brought so many people into the city, we were able to do that,” said Rainbow, who is curating the 2020 live art show. While the 2020 concert series has been postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual concert has just been announced for August 16, w it h Trenton -bor n music legend and city ambassador Sarah Dash headlining the show. Dash is an award-winning soul, funk, and disco singer-songwriter and one of
Adam Welch Adam Welch Named ACP Executive Director
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) has announced the appointment of Adam Welch as the organization’s executive director, effective September 1. “As a seasoned professional with an extensive background in arts management and fundraising, we look forward to having Adam Welch bring his creative vision, wealth of experience, and artistic excel-
lence to the Arts Council of Princeton,” says Sarah Collum Hatfield, board president of the ACP. Welch joins the ACP from Greenwich House Pottery in New York City, where he has worked for 17 years, serving as its director since 2010. At Greenwich House Pottery, he set the institutional vision for the country’s leading ceramic art center; refocused its mission; turned its six-figure deficit into a surplus; developed the exhibition, education, and residency programs ; documented, researched, and helped organize its historical record; implemented capital campaigns; and developed its gallery and artistic publications. Welch raised necessary scholarship and capital funds and oversaw management, fundraising, budget, and public relations in close collaboration with its faculty and staff. An artist, critic, and educator living in Hightstown, Welch serves on the faculty of Princeton University and for the past six years on the Hightstown Cultural Arts Commission, where he helped write its Public Art Master Plan, organize its annual Empty Bowls fundraiser providing relief for food insecure families, and bring public art to Hightstown. “It is a profound honor to be appointed executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, an organization of major importance to the Princeton community and within the New Jersey art scene,” said Welch. “I have a deep appreciation for the ACP’s work in the community and its unwavering commitment to art and artists. I eagerly look forward to working with the ACP’s staff, faculty, and board of directors. I believe deeply in the responsibility that has been given me and look forward to guiding the ACP into the future.” Since 2018, Jim Levine has served the Arts Council of Princeton as its interim executive director. “We are grateful for Jim’s commitment and leadership during these past two years,” said Hatfield. “Thanks to his guidance and wisdom, along with outstanding support from the full staff, the organization has strengthened its mission of Building Community through the Arts, and successfully kept our constituents ‘apART together’ during this time of physical distancing.” “The last two years as interim executive director have been among the most enjoyable, rewarding years of my career,” said Levine. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with many interesting people, to help the Arts Council bring art and arts education to the underserved, and to deliver on our mission. The staff of the Arts Council continuously impressed me with their creativity, ingenuity, and drive, and they are a real hidden treasure of the town. I’m looking forward to seeing Adam and the staff continue to grow the organization in the years to come and to have it become an ever more important part of the community.”
Art All Night Goes Virtual on August 15-16
A r t works, pro ducer of Trenton’s arts festival Art All Night, which was postponed until the weekend of August 15-16 because of the coronavirus pandemic, has an“MURALS ON FRONT STREET”: The Trenton Downtown Association (TDA) has partnered with Trenton artist Leon Rainbow for the nounced that the event will fourth consecutive year to bring live mural painting to Front and Broad streets in downtown Trenton. The live painting began on now become fully virtual. July 30 and will continue with new murals created by a dozen local artists through September 20. “As uncertainty continues
over when and how New Jersey w ill recover from COVID-19, the likelihood of holding a festival in August, in Trenton, with thousands of attendees seemed increasingly remote,” said Artworks Executive Director Lauren Otis. “We realized it was prudent to make other plans, and the more we explored the idea of a virtual event, the more we realized how exciting the possibilities were.” “Just about everything that artists and attendees know and love about Art All Night — the huge variety of art on display, live music, live demonstrations, our film festival, children’s activities, master classes and talks — we will be able to present all of them online for everyone to participate in and enjoy safely on August 15 and 16,” said Joseph Kuzemka, Art All Night director. “What is exciting is we will be able to provide the Art All Night experience not just to those who can travel to Trenton, but to anyone tuning in from across the country or around the world.” The new virtual format will result in changes in how artists submit artwork to Art All Night, as well as submissions by music performers, filmmakers, and other participants, said Kuzemka. Artists and others interested in submitting should follow Art All Night Trenton on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and check in regularly at the Art All Night Trenton website, artallnighttrenton.org, to receive updates on the new process. “Art All Night is going to be different this year, but a lot is different around the country and around the world,” said Kuzemka. “We’re stoked to be able to present a virtual Art All Night to our audience, enabling us all to connect and interact happily as we celebrate our large, diverse, and creative community in the midst of these unsettling times.”
17 • TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
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the original founding members of the group LaBelle. “Right now, we could all use a little more positive energy and joyful, creative expression in our lives,” said Rainbow. “Murals on Front Street, along with the virtual concert, brings the Levitt AMP Trenton Music Series back to life, in more than spirit.” Rainbow is best known for combining graffiti, street art, and other artistic forms into innovative projects and events. He has planned an exciting lineup of local talent, beginning with Dean “RAS” Innocenzi and R Fab, who will be creating the first two murals. “This has been such a w o n d e r f u l c o l l ab o r a t i o n with Leon that would not have been possible without the generous support of the Trenton Parking Authority, who has allowed us to use the panels on an old garage and turn them into art,” said Singletar y. “T he NJS CA grant is also making it possible for TDA to bring two additional arts initiatives to the community: another mural series called ‘We are Survivors,’ created by Rainbow and in partnership with the Trenton Health Team, and a neighborhood-based sidewalk chalk project. By continuing this effort, we can encourage the ever-thriving creative community within Trenton to spread a message of strength and resiliency outward.”
ACP Presents “In Conversation” With Artist Diana Weymar
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “In Conversation” with textile ar tist and activist Diana Weymar and Timothy M. Andrews, art collector and m aj or s upp or ter of t h e ACP’s Artist-in-Residence program, on Tuesday, August 11 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This curated series of discussions is designed to celebrate and connect those who make art and those who love art. Visit artscouncilofprinceton.org to link into the free conversation via Zoom. This program is part of the ACP’s apART together initiative. Weymar grew up in the w i l d e r n e s s of N or t h e r n British Columbia, studied creative writing at Princeton University, and worked in film in New York City. W hile in residency w ith the ACP as the 2016 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence, Weymar created Interwoven Stories, a community-based narrative stitching project featuring hundreds of threehole fabric “pages,” stitched with memories, places, and people by members of the Princeton community. By 2 019, Inte r w o v e n S to ries had expanded to an international capacity with the original project in Princeton inspiring people around the world to join the collective narrative. For more infor mation, visit artscouncilofprinceton. org.
