Visual Arts Center of New Jersey

Members Opening - Wendy Robinson: My Kingdom of Animals
2021-06-27 13:00 - 16:00 UTC
Join Wendy Robinson as she opens her Member Exhibition, My Kingdom of Animals in Ann’s Place Gallery on Sunday, June 27, 1–4 PM.

The exhibition will be on display from June 26–September 12. For more information, click here.

Summer Art Camp, Week 1
2021-06-21 - 2021-06-26
Kids (ages 5–9)
NEW! Summer Sampler WAITLIST ONLY
June 21–25, 10 AM–3 PM
Sample all that summer art camp has to offer! Try projects inspired by our upcoming camp sessions, as well as a few based on classic summer pastimes. Projects will not be repeated later this summer should your camper come for another week.
Tweens (ages 10–12)
Printmaking Techniques and Comic, Cartoons & Anime WAITLIST ONLY
June 21–25, 10 AM–3 PM
Printmaking Techniques: In this unique camp, tweens will create their own limited-edition prints on our professional presses! Tweens will learn various techniques, styles, and tools of the printmaking trade through demonstrations and hands-on practice. This camp will cover techniques including Plexiglass drypoint and monoprinting, as tweens create original one-of-a-kind or editionable prints.
Comics, Cartoons & Anime: Calling all comic, cartoon, and anime lovers! Tweens will explore drawing popular characters and work on simple and effective techniques for creating their own character concepts. Master a unique style of creating cartoon, anime, and comic art.
Teens (ages 13+)
Art Journaling and Fiber Sculpture
June 21–25, 10 AM–3 PM
Art Journaling: Art journaling is a wonderful habit for everyone, not just artists! Keeping a journal that contains one’s inspirations, frustrations, dreams, and fears is a way to creatively process everyday life. Teens will make their own journal with simple bookbinding techniques and will fill its pages both inside and outside of camp. We’ll also encourage teens to share their journaling journey during camp.
Fiber Sculptures: Incorporate pattern and texture into sculpture through the use of fiber! Teens will learn to bring their ideas and sketches to life, creating anything from plushies to abstract sculptures! While basic sewing may be involved, teens will also explore other techniques to build their fiber sculptures. Pre-made patterns will be available, but with the guidance of their instructor, teens can also create their own templates for original designs.

Summer Art Camp Begins!
2021-06-21
Click here to learn more about all our Summer Art Camp offerings!
Register now for the most creative camp in town! In-person and online options are available for kids, tweens, and teens of all skill levels. Full-day and half-day options too, including before and after care! Camp begins on June 21 and runs through August 27.

Raku-Fest 2021
2021-06-12 - 2021-06-13
Raku-Fest Returns to the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
Saturday, June 12 & Sunday, June 13, 10 AM–5 PM
We are excited to announce the return of a classic Art Center event: Raku-Fest! Raku-Fest showcases a unique ceramic firing process in which red-hot ceramic pieces are transferred directly from the kiln into a container of combustible materials. The heat of the ceramic causes the materials to ignite, and the resulting smoke creates one-of-a-kind effects in the ceramic glaze. Led by raku veterans Peter Syak and Lisette Bedoya, this is sure to be an amazing event!

Three Ways to Participate:
Option One: Drop-off Raku Firing
Do you have ceramic work already made that you want raku-fired? Our talented instructors will fire them during the event. Register in advance, then drop off your piece(s) at the Art Center by Thursday, June 10. Pieces must have your name or mark and should be boxed and clearly labeled with your name.
$20 per piece. Note: to ensure proper firing, pieces must be made with raku clay purchased from the Art Center. Maximum dimensions of about 12 x 12 x 8 inches per piece. Students do not need to attend and will be contacted following the event regarding pickup. If you wish to attend the event, please also register for admission.
Option Two: Attend the Event—advance registration required
A socially distanced audience can watch the action live as multiple raku firings take place throughout the day. To limit capacity, admission is available for either morning (10 AM–1 PM) or afternoon (2–5 PM) on both days. Attendees may arrive any time during their time window. Walk-ins on the day of the event will be available only if capacity allows.
$5 per person admission fee. Children 17 & under are free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. Please enter the number of children attending during registration.
Option Three: Attend the Event & Glaze Items for Purchase—advance registration required
An assortment of pre-made ceramic pieces will be available for purchase for participants to glaze and have fired during the event. If you choose to glaze an item, your $5 admission fee will be deducted from the cost of the item. Items available for purchase and glazing include: jewelry pieces, plates, and pots of varying sizes. Walk-ins on the day of the event will be available only if capacity allows.
Register Here:

Saturday, Morning Session
Saturday, Afternoon Session
Sunday, Morning Session
Sunday, Afternoon Session
Drop off Firing

Sip and Cinema - Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo
2021-06-01 13:00 - 14:00
Take a journey through the life of the iconic Frida Kahlo—discover her art, and uncover the truth behind her often turbulent life. Making use of the latest technology to deliver previously unimaginable quality, this film takes an in-depth look at key works throughout her career. This film delves deeper than any film has done before, engaging with world-renowned Kahlo experts, exploring how great an artist she was. Then join us on Tuesday, June 1 at 1 PM for a virtual discussion with special guest Professor Gannit Ankori, the Henry and Lois Foster Director and Chief Curator at the Rose Art Museum, at Brandeis University. The discussion moderated by Mary Birmingham, curator of the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.
Watch the trailer and rent the film here.
Register for the free discussion on June 1 here.

Annual Spring Gala 2021: Paint the Town - Auction and Zoom Information
2021-05-22 19:30 - 21:00
ANNUAL SPRING GALA
May 22, 2021
7:30 PM via Zoom & Small-Party Pods
Click here for more information.

Summer Exhibitions Opening
2021-05-08 13:00 - 17:00 | Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ, 07901, United States
We invite you to join us on Saturday, May 8th, 1–5 PM, as we will celebrate the opening of feature solo exhibitions by two New Jersey artists. In the Main Gallery, Nancy Cohen will show a series of large-scale drawings made from paper pulp and handmade paper alongside an array of suspended glass sculptures in her show titled Nancy Cohen: Atlas of Impermanence. Cohen is interested in the juxtaposition of fragility and strength and chooses materials that embody these qualities both physically and metaphorically.
Katrina Bello’s installation, Knowable Earth, will be on view in the Eisenberg Gallery. Comprising three monumental drawings, a series of smaller drawings, and a video, the exhibition explores the beauty, complexity, and fragility of the natural world and our relation to it.
To provide the safest viewing experience possible, visitors interested in viewing our summer exhibitions must make reservations for limited, one-hour time slots. Click here to reserve a time slot to view both exhibitions. These shows are free and open to the public, but donations are accepted.

Deadline For Entry - 2021–2022 Members Shows
2021-05-02
The deadline to apply for our members 2021–2021 exhibition season is Sunday, May 2. The Members Committee is accepting applications from members to exhibit their work at the Art Center as well as other community spaces in Summit. You may submit a proposal for a solo exhibit or for a group exhibition of member artists who wish to show collectively.
Applications must include:

10 images (in jpg or pdf form) representative of the work to be shown with an identifying list of the titles, sizes, and media of those images.
Contact information including name, email, and phone number of the person proposing the exhibition.
A description of the exhibition including exhibition title, names of the participating artist(s), and the concepts or themes that will be explored in it.

All participating artists must be current members of the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey at the time of proposal. Send the complete proposal via email to: mcohn@artcenternj.org with “Proposal for Members Committee” in the subject line. Incomplete proposals will NOT be considered. All proposals must be received by Sunday, May 2. Please direct all questions to Executive Director Melanie Cohn at mcohn@artcenternj.org.
Not a member? Click here to become one now!

Virtual Artist Talk: (de)coding
2021-04-20 19:00 - 20:00
Join VACNJ Curator Mary Birmingham as she moderates this conversation with several of the exhibiting artists featured in the Art Center’s Main Gallery exhibition (de)coding. Learn how each artist creates codes in their work and what the word “decoding” means to them.
Participating artists: Gina Adams, Elizabeth Duffy, DARNstudio, Debra Ramsay, Kwesi Kwarteng, Leslie Roberts, Shanti Grumbine, and Viviane Rombaldi-Seppey.
Click here to register.

In-Person Spring Break Art Camp (ages 10-12)
2021-03-29 13:00 - 2021-04-02 16:00
In-Person Small Group Spring Break Art Camp (ages 10–12)
Monday, March 29–Friday, April 2
Join us for a special Small Group Spring Break Art Camp for weens ages 10–12! Young artists will learn from our talented teaching artists, create unique art projects, and socialize with friends in our indoor studios. This half-day camp will feature art-making in a variety of media in a small, socially distanced environment. For public safety, campers will be temperature screened and required to wear face coverings. Please send campers with a water bottle only (there will not be a lunch period) and in clothes that can get messy.
Schedule
12:45–1 PM: Drop-off
1 – 4 PM: Artmaking sessions
4–4:15 PM: Pick-up

In-Person Spring Break Art Camp (ages 5–9)
2021-03-29 09:00 - 2021-04-02 12:00
In-Person Small Group Spring Break Art Camp (ages 5–9)
Monday, March 29–Friday, April 2
Join us for a special Small Group Spring Break Art Camp for kids ages 5–9! Young artists will learn from our talented teaching artists, create unique art projects, and socialize with friends in our indoor studios. This half-day camp will feature art-making in a variety of media in a small, socially distanced environment. For public safety, campers will be temperature screened and required to wear face coverings. Please send campers with a water bottle only (there will not be a lunch period) and in clothes that can get messy.
Schedule
8:45–9 AM: Drop-off
9 AM–12 PM: Artmaking sessions
12–12:15 PM: Pick-up

Virtual Road Trip
2021-03-24 13:00 - 14:00
This year, our road trip has gone online! Join VACNJ curator Mary Birmingham on Wednesday, March 24, for a virtual road trip exploring the growing trend of quilts in contemporary art. She will share her impressions of three recently closed exhibitions: Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch at The Bronx Museum of the Arts; Bisa Butler: Portraits at the Katonah Museum of Art; and Jesse Krimes: American Rendition at Malin Gallery in Chelsea. And since we are not limited by time or distance on this virtual outing, we will also check out Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change, a recent show at the Toledo Museum of Art that has received a great deal of critical attention, and also talk about the related works in the Art Center’s current exhibition (de)coding.

Click here to register. Free for members/$20 for non-members.

International Women's Day: Virtual Artist Talk
2021-03-08 19:00 - 20:00
International Women’s Day is Monday, March 8. In celebration of that date, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will host a virtual artist talk with Spandita Malik, Elan Cadiz, and Rasika Reddy, all women artists with solo exhibitions on view at the Art Center through April 25. Spandita Malik is a New York-based artist from India whose work often addresses women’s rights and gendered violence. New York-based artist Elan Cadiz is exhibiting a portrait series titled Scaffold: Equity of Treatment in which she adds scaffolding around the figures in her paintings to symbolize the individual care and support we all need in order to create a new and better world. Rasika Reddy began a practice of painting single hummingbirds—a different species for each day—while quarantining at her home in Summit, New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and eight of these birds now fill the Art Center’s main stairwell—each individually rendered in watercolor—creating a “flock” of hope and joy for difficult times.

Curator Mary Birmingham will moderate this artist talk and discussion, including a Q&A session with the audience. The event is free to the public, but registration is required. Your donations help the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey continue to offer engaging exhibitions and programs.
Click here to register.

Virtual Art Therapy for Parents
2021-02-25 19:00 - 20:00
These pandemic times have been tough for parents. Take some time for self-care and join this five-week virtual art therapy session and learn to use active art-making and the creative process to reduce stress and anxiety. Each session will be limited to 10 people and will be led by Alison Silver, a board-certified creative arts therapist.
Thursdays, 7–8 PM
February 25–March 25
Click here to register.

Embroidery Workshop with Spandita Malik
2021-02-20 13:00 - 15:00
In correlation with her exhibition Spandita Malik: Threads of Identity, currently on view in the Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg Gallery, VACNJ is offering a limited seating, in-person embroidery workshop with the New York-based Artist. Malik, who is originally from India, asks each participant to bring one photograph or image of someone or something they love. This image will then be heat transferred onto fabric during the two-hour workshop. The artist will teach three types of embroidery stitches and participants will come away with a fabric piece of art, adorned with embroidery. There is a $25 fee to participate and, due to safety precautions and restrictions, this workshop is limited to six people.
Click here to register.

DEADLINE: Summer Art Camp Early-Bird Registration
2021-02-15
Registration is now open for Summer Art Camp at the Art Center. Register by February 15 to take advantage of our early-bird pricing! Click here for more information and to sign up now.

Winter/Spring Exhibitions Opening
2021-02-06
On Saturday, February 6, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will reopen its winter/spring exhibitions. To provide the safest viewing experience possible, visitors must make reservations through artcenternj.org for limited, one-hour time slots. All four exhibitions—(de)coding; Spandita Malik: Threads of Identity; Scaffold: Equity of Treatment A project by Elan Cadiz; Rasika Reddy: 108 Hummingbirds—will be on view through April 25.
Click here to register.

How to Fly: A virtual event for MLK Jr. Day
2021-01-18 13:00 - 15:00
On Monday, January 18, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will participate in Summit’s Day of Justice, Equality, and Service to Others. From 1-3 PM, the Art Center will host a virtual community project titled, How to Fly. The project will entail decorating individual paper feathers with artwork and the words of MLK Jr. It will explore how working together, we can create wings; how the contribution of the individual creates the whole; and how, as a group, we can elevate each other to greater heights. Children and adults are invited to create artwork or write text on large paper feathers (download the template here) that will be arranged into a wall hanging, that will later be hung in Summit. You can attend the event anytime between 1-3 PM and stay as long or short as you’d like.
This event is free and open to the public. Register here.

Artist Talk: Community Storytelling Through Contemporary Art
2021-01-12 19:00 - 20:30
Please join us on January 12 at 7 PM for a conversation between Art Center Curator, Mary Birmingham, artist Yvette Molina, and artist Elisabeth Smolarz as they discuss the communal storytelling projects currently on view at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.
Click here to sign up now.

Winter Break Workshops for Adults & Teens
2021-01-04 - 2021-01-07
Sign up now and start the season by focusing on sculpture, photography, drawing, printmaking, and more! And with both in-person and online options, there’s a safe, inspirational workshop to fit your every need.
Click here to find out more and to register.

Fall Exhibitions: Timed Entry – January
2021-01-02 - 2021-01-19
On Saturday, October 3, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will reopen its spring exhibitions that were closed this past March due to Covid-19. To provide the safest viewing experience possible, visitors must make reservations through artcenternj.org for limited, one-hour time slots. All four exhibitions—Hillerbrand + Magsamen: The Devices Project; Yvette Molina: Big Bang Votive; Elisabeth Smolarz: The Encyclopedia of Things; and Adrienne Wheeler: White Dress Narratives—will be on view through January 18, 2021.
Click here to reserve a timeslot during the month of January.

Winter Break Workshops for Kids & Tweens
2020-12-28 - 2020-12-30
Give the kid or tween in your life the gift of creativity this winter season! This year, our popular winter-break art workshops will be taught by our talented teaching artists live on Zoom. Each session, young artists will learn techniques in a featured media while creating an artistic project from the comfort of their own homes. Each session offers a different project, allowing students to join multiple workshops without the worry of repeats!
Click here for more info and to register.

Artist Talk: On Collaborative Practice
2020-12-08 19:00 - 20:00
Join artists Adam Eckstrom and Lauren Was of Ghost of a Dream, David Anthone and Ron Norsworthy of DARNstudio, and Stephan Hillerbrand and Mary Magsamen of Hillerbrand+Magsamen in a discussion about the process of creating art through collaboration.

Radical LeWitt
2020-12-04 13:00 - 14:00
Join Jason Rulnick and Veronica Roberts in exploring the radical nature of Sol LeWitt’s art. Rulnick and Roberts both worked with LeWitt and discuss their recent contributions to a book devoted to a little-known body of drawings LeWitt made by folding and tearing paper, that he wished to be sold for no more than $100. Arguably Sol’s most radical works on paper, discover their context and influence within a larger practice, rooted in rethinking what art could be. They will be joined by Lindsay Aveilhe who will introduce a new, free Sol LeWitt app. The conversation will be moderated by Mary Birmingham.

Fall Exhibitions: Timed Entry - December
2020-12-01 - 2020-12-31
On Saturday, October 3, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will reopen its spring exhibitions that were closed this past March due to Covid-19. To provide the safest viewing experience possible, visitors must make reservations through artcenternj.org for limited, one-hour time slots. All four exhibitions—Hillerbrand + Magsamen: The Devices Project; Yvette Molina: Big Bang Votive; Elisabeth Smolarz: The Encyclopedia of Things; and Adrienne Wheeler: White Dress Narratives—will be on view through January 18, 2021.
Click here to reserve a timeslot during the month of December.

VACNJ Virtual Fall Fundraiser
2020-11-20 19:00 - 20:30
Join us for a virtual conversation with Yvette Molina and the unique opportunity to purchase your own night-sky panel. Collect it as is or schedule a session with the artist to create a personalized symbol for yourself or as a gift!
Register for the zoom event here.
Purchase a panel here.

Fall Exhibitions: Timed Entry - November
2020-11-01 - 2020-11-30
On Saturday, October 3, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will reopen its spring exhibitions that were closed this past March due to Covid-19. To provide the safest viewing experience possible, visitors must make reservations through artcenternj.org for limited, one-hour time slots. All four exhibitions—Hillerbrand + Magsamen: The Devices Project; Yvette Molina: Big Bang Votive; Elisabeth Smolarz: The Encyclopedia of Things; and Adrienne Wheeler: White Dress Narratives—will be on view through January 18, 2021.
Click here to reserve a timeslot during the month of November.

The Adjacent Possible
2020-10-22 13:00 - 14:00
Join the Art Center for The Adjacent Possible, a virtual experience that mixes music, improvisational performance, storytelling, and technology to transform the audience into an orchestra. This project, conceived by artist Joshua-Michele Ross and brought to life through a partnership with Adam Brick and Adam Lucas, allows participants to collaborate with the help of a “conductor” to create a completely unique piece of music.
No music-making experience is necessary.
Click here to reserve your ticket.

Adrienne Wheeler Artist Talk
2020-10-20 19:00 - 21:00
Join exhibiting artist Adrienne Wheeler for this virtual conversation about her work, specifically White Dress Narratives, on display in the Art Center’s main staircase.
Click here to register.

Sip & Cinema: Art Edition - The Gates
2020-10-16 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for a discussion of the documentary film, “The Gates” and a consideration of the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Art Center curator Mary Birmingham will be joined by Linda Blumberg, a prominent leader in the arts, who had a working relationship with Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Having worked at the Central Park Conservancy during the “Gates” project, she will share her memories of the artists and the project. Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_raa5gbOuTPWrLUULeZh9oQ

Watch the film at your leisure prior to our virtual discussion on October 16. Rent the film here:
https://kinomarquee.com/…/5cc8a3…/film-society-of-summit
