By Taylor Smith
Experience the season at New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) Holiday Train Show, now through Sunday, January 6, 2020. Natural materials such as fruit, seeds, pine cones, twigs, bark, stems, fungus, acorns, lotus pods, and cinnamon recreate a sweeping metropolis designed by Paul Busse of Applied Imagination. more
By Taylor Smith
Registration is underway for winter art classes for adults, teens, and children at The Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster. With more than 35 offerings to choose from, classes begin in January 2020. more
Leonora Carrington, British, active Mexico and United States, 1917–2011, Crookhey Hall, 1987. Color lithograph. Gift of David L. Meginnity, Class of 1958. © Leonora Carrington / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Princeton University Art Museum Exhibit Explores Wellness and Illness, Care and Suffering, Across Time and Cultures
By Laurie Pellichero | Images Courtesy of Princeton University Art Museum
Pandemics and infectious disease. Mental illness. The hopes and dangers of childbirth. The complexities of care. These concepts and many others are explored through more than 80 art objects from around the world — from antiquity to modern times —including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs, and multimedia, in “States of Health: Visualizing Illness and Healing,” on view at the Princeton University Art Museum November 2 through February 2, 2020.
“With the medical humanities a growing field, ‘States of Health’ afforded us an extraordinary opportunity to pose important questions about how we visualize both wellness and disease,” says James Steward, Nancy A. Dasher-David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, director. “By positioning objects that have likely never been in dialogue with each other before, the exhibition draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives to consider health and healing today, how artists have interpreted these states over time, and how they both differ and share certain characteristics across many cultures.”
“States of Health” is displayed in four thematic groupings: “Confronting Contagion,” “States of Mind,” “Worlds of Care,” and “Birthing Narratives,” with cross-cultural juxtapositions throughout the exhibition considering both broad issues and specific historical events from a visual perspective. more
By Taylor Smith
Westfield, New Jersey, transforms into all things Charles Addams this October for AddamsFest — a month-long, family-fun series of events including movie screenings, art exhibits, a masquerade ball, paranormal investigations, a costume contest, and a Halloween House Decorating Contest. more
By Taylor Smith
The Nakashima Foundation for Peace (https://nakashimafoundation.org) aims to build Sacred Peace Tables for each continent of the world and to preserve both the legacy of George Nakashima, a leading innovator of 20th century furniture design, and the National Historic Landmark designated Nakashima Property in New Hope, Pa., for future generations. more
By Taylor Smith
Brandywine River Museum in scenic Chadds Ford, Pa., presents a new exhibit entitled “N.C. Wyeth: New Perspectives,” on view June 22, 2019 to September 15, 2019. more
By Taylor Smith
Step back in time to Medieval Europe while remaining in Manhattan? Yes, it’s possible. Just plan a trip to The Met Cloisters in Washington Heights’ Fort Tryon Park. North of the Bronx, The Cloisters is perched on a very high overlooking the neighborhood of Inwood and offering sweeping views of New Jersey’s Palisades, specifically the cliffs of Fort Lee and Englewood. more
The eight artists in the exhibition “Art & Healing: Expressions of Trauma and Gratitude,” have each experienced a life-altering cancer diagnosis. Thanks to the vehicles of art and storytelling, these patients have found a new way to communicate their personal struggles and experiences of living with cancer. more
By Taylor Smith
On view through August 9, 2020, “T. rex: The Ultimate Predator” is sure to ignite the imaginations of visitors at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The new exhibit asks, “How did T. rex evolve to become the most fearsome carnivore of the Mesozoic?” Spectators can take in life-size models of the fearsome predator; fossils, casts, and interactive activities; and an immersive multiplayer virtual reality experience developed just for the exhibition. Children are sure to marvel at how this 12,000-plus-pound terror began as a tiny critter. They will also meet T. rex’s family members, some of whom are small and even have feathers! more
By Taylor Smith
The Museum of Modern Art recently announced that it will open its expanded campus on October 21, 2019, with a reimagined presentation of modern art. more
By Taylor Smith
On view through February 10, “Mickey: The True Original Exhibition” is at 60 10th Avenue in New York City. The 16,000-square-foot space in Chelsea, very close to The High Line, features both nostalgic and modern works from international artists, all of whom are inspired by classic images of the graphic, black-and-white mouse. more
By Taylor Smith
Photos courtesy of The Rubin Museum of Art
Looking for a cultural day trip? Fall is a great time to visit The Rubin Museum of Art, located at 150 West 17th Street in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. With an emphasis on cross-cultural connections, the Rubin showcases the art, ideas, and culture of the Himalayas, India, and neighboring regions. Special exhibitions celebrate art forms that range from ancient to contemporary. more
By Ilene Dube
When it seems so much is wrong in the world, and the onslaught of daily news makes you want to shut it all down, it just might be the perfect time to throw a dinner party!
In preparation you might listen to podcasts of The Dinner Party Download, NPR’s “fast and funny hour of culture, food, and conversation: In every episode you’ll learn a joke; bone-up on an odd bit of history, and then wash it down with a themed cocktail recipe…” Hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam, in their new book, Brunch is Hell, tell “How to Save the World by Having a Dinner Party.” more
By Laurie Pellichero
Summer is just around the corner, along with a plethora of events in town and all around. Here is just a sampling of activities to enjoy as the weather heats up…
The Arts Council of Princeton (www.artscouncilofprinceton.org) and Princeton Shopping Center (www.princtonshoppingcenter.com) present the 35th annual Summer in the Courtyard Concert Series, featuring the best in local and regional jazz, folk, world, rock, and blues. Concerts are every Thursday, 6 to 8pm, from June 21 through August 23 at the Princeton Shopping Center. Don’t forget to bring a lawn chair! Acts include The Dirk Quinn Band on June 21, Blawenburg Band on June 28, DCFusion on July 12, BRIZ and the Revival on July 26, Grace Little Band on August 2, Eco Del Sur on August 9, and the Octavia Blues Band on August 16. In the event of inclement weather, concerts will be held inside the Arts Council’s Pop-Up Studio, next to Metropolis Spa & Salon at the Princeton Shopping Center. more
By Anne Levin / Renderings courtesy of Morven Museum and Garden
Imagining an addition to Morven, the historic Princeton museum that was home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence and five New Jersey governors, one might understandably expect a building in the style of the 18th-century Greek Revival mansion. But the recently opened Stockton Education Center, which adds much-needed space to the site, bears no resemblance to its grand old ancestor. more
By Wendy Greenberg
The air is warmer and daylight lingers longer. Lime green leaves are painting roadside landscapes. So often spring awakens an urge to seek greener thumbs, or greener yards. After all, it is the Garden State.
If you are so inspired, you are in luck. A bounty of classes and programs beckons to help would-be plant whisperers find their voices. Some of the area’s most respected and scenic public gardens are at your service with on-site and online courses, ranging from landscape design to wellness and therapy, to native flora, and some unusual offerings. more
By Donald H. Sanborn III
Legendary American composer, conductor, pianist, educator, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) once said, “I can’t live one day without hearing music, playing it, studying it, or thinking about it.” Audiences and museum visitors are having multiple opportunities this year to hear Bernstein’s music and think about it. In March, Princeton University’s Richardson Chamber Players presented “Bernstein and Friends: A Centennial Celebration.” Institutions such as Symphony Space and the National Museum of American Jewish History also will celebrate the maestro’s centennial. Aficionados of the work of choreographer Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) will have similar opportunities. more
By Anne Levin // Photos Courtesy of Amanda Lucidon from Chasing Light: Michelle Obama Through the Lens of a White House Photographer (Ten Speed Press).
This past November, photographer Amanda Lucidon spoke at Princeton Public Library about her new book Chasing Light: Michelle Obama Through the Lens of a White House Photographer. The large crowd that turned out was no surprise. Princeton is a very blue town in a blue state, and the evening promised a bit of nostalgia for those who miss the days when Barack and Michelle Obama, Malia, Sasha, and their dogs were in the White House. more
D&R Greenway Land Trust presents a special evening with renowned furniture designer Mira Nakashima on Thursday, March 22 (doors open 6:30 p.m., talk begins at 7 p.m.) at the Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, Princeton. Admission costs $10 person.
Mira Nakashima, the daughter of legendary furniture sculptor George Nakashima, will tell the story of the family’s woodworking legacy, followed by a signing of her book, Nature, Form, and Spirit: The Life and Legacy of George Nakashima. Nakashima pieces will be displayed and available for purchase, including a three-legged stool, candle holders, pencil holders, and bread boards. more
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon will present a reading from his recent poetry collections joined by acclaimed singer Iarla Ó Lionáird and composer Dan Trueman, in celebration of Muldoon’s latest volume Lamenations and the three artists’ collaboration with Eighth Blackbird, Olagón: A Cantata in Doublespeak. The reading, presented by Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies, will take on place on Friday, February 23 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wallace Theater located at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton campus. This event is free and open to the public. Performances of Olagón are being presented on February 22 through 24. more
