The City of Perth Amboy has decided to move the management of the Arts Gallery from the Business Improvement District to yet-to-be-created Arts Council, made up of volunteer citizens.
The Perth Amboy Gallery for the Arts has been reassigned as a program to be managed by the Perth Amboy Recreation Department effective January 1, 2011. A public forum for input from any local artists was held at the gallery on Feb. 16. Recreation Department Director Ken Ortiz and Lis Mery Ramirez, Assistant Recreation Supervisor and Municipal Alliance Coordinator, moderated the discussion. About 40 artists and community members attended.
Stated goals of the forum were: developing an overall Art Plan for the city, designing programs, classes and exhibits, scheduling and planning of art-related events throughout the city, offering artists physical spaces to develop their talents, developing action items and ideas that can be implemented to encourage more creative expression the city and finally, building ways to achieve more economic activity in the town through the production of art. Also, this forum was the first step in collecting information to create a local artist registry.
When encouraged, participants called out different artistic needs for the city that matched many of the stated goals.
Regarding specific project ideas, audience suggestions included the following: a Rockette-style “Capitol Kick Line” at City Hall to highlight the nationally significant historical nature of our City Hall building as well as the nationally historical events that have occurred in Perth Amboy. Sounds kooky to have a thousand people kicking around the High Street circle? Well, maybe, but this annual event is extraordinarily successful in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with thousands flocking to the town and forming the kick-line, as well as shopping, eating, touring the city’s sites and day tripping to the town. Another suggestion was the longer term goal of holding an annual citywide festival similar to “Artstown” in Reno, Nevada, where the entire town is transformed into a huge arts festival for one solid week. This was suggested by a current resident who had lived in Reno for many years and experienced first hand the growth of “Artstown”. Repeatedly, artists in the room asked for space not just to work in and exhibit their artwork, but spots to “hang out” with other artists, as that is an important part of the creative process. A young multi-disciplined artist named Samantha said, “Being with other artists makes you a better artist.” The underutilization of the Raritan Bay YMCA’s new 188-seat theatre was stressed as a performance space just waiting to be brought to life.
The beach was noted as another underutilized art performance and display area. The mention of the beach triggered Ms. Ramirez to describe a fantastic event that occurred recently in Belmar: refrigerator doors were placed upright in the beach sand in a circle. Magnetized words were arranged in poems on the doors.
The massive formation stood there day and night for two days. The title of the exhibit was Poem-Henge. (See: belmar.com/arts/poem-henge/) More poetry readings, dance performances, student art exhibits, communal art exhibits where various artists all contribute one piece, rather than exhibits consisting of just one famous artist’s work and other ideas came pouring from the participants. It was an upbeat, energetic session.
One man, who creates specialized frames for poets to market their work, described an open mic night that he is starting soon at Arias Lounge. Another pair in the audience, who identified themselves as Reynaldo and Maria, introduced their new corporation, Expresiones, a company dedicated to helping artists with the “business aspects of art”, such as marketing, sales, budgeting, business plan development, and pursuing grant monies.
Maria said frequently, “The infrastructure isn’t there” while Reynaldo added, “That issue plus artists sometimes don’t grasp the entrepreneurial side of art. We will aid people with that.”
More public comments included the request for a multi-perspective approach to the development of an “arts scene” in town, the need to keep our eyes on the ball and not get “left out” of grant funding opportunities, the use of the 92nd Street Y in New York City as a good example of how limitless the use of space at a YMCA can be when geared toward the arts (see www.92y.org). More local examples of successful programs to explore that were mentioned by the audience: the Baron’s Art Center of Woodbridge, the Artist’s Guild of Woodbridge and also project “Riverwalk” by Albas Cabas in New Brunswick, where contemporary murals were created along the Raritan River. Even more ideas came for a “dance mobile”, using the next-door basketball courtyard as a stage or dance floor and holding a month-long, outdoor summertime dance series as Lincoln Center in NYC has done for years (and gets sold out every night).
The endeavor is not without its challenges. When asked, What municipal sites are available - where would all these events be specifically happening?, Mr. Ortiz replied “This (the Gallery) is the space we have a the moment.”
When another audience member asked, Will there be a director and/or curator?, Ms. Ramirez responded, “We want to see an Arts Council start and the Council will be in charge. We would eventually want the Council to become an incorporated entity and own the Gallery.”
When asked who would manage the formation of a citywide arts plan, bringing the arts to more public spaces, holding more artistic events, finding space for artists to work, hanging out and giving or take classes, operating an art gallery and finally, creating more economic activity in town from art, Ms. Ramirez said the Arts Council, with a stated time frame of May to September for plan development and October 2011 as the month for a completed, concrete plan.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez was present and commented, “This needs leadership. I hope you two are going to lead and host more of these meetings. You both are going to hold more meetings – announce your dates.”
In conclusion, here is some background on the arts in Perth Amboy, both from the recent past and concluding with the more distant past.
The current Perth Amboy Gallery for the Arts started with a letter sent to former Mayor Joseph Vas requesting a space for Ms. Olga Bautista, previous Gallery Director, to continue creating her sculpture work. That started the gallery in its original location on Front Street. The gallery moved to Reade Street due to municipal budget cuts.
Ms. Bautista suggested the Reade Street location to Mayor Diaz, who supported the idea. With the help of the Public Works Department, the Reade Street space was renovated with Ms. Bautista’s guidance on lighting, floor color, studio space and other features. The Reade Street location had its grand opening on April 25, 2008 and operated there for approximately two years until January 1, 2011.
From November to December there was an exhibit of Perth Amboy’s native son, the world renowned Kenneth Hari. It was considererd spectacular. Ms. Bautista also helped found the annual “Festival de los Andes”, a yearly celebration of the culture and heritage of Andean indigenous people. This festival has been growing in popularity for the past five years. She also brought Perth Amboy exhibits to other locations, such as hospitals, community centers and many more sites, participated in the city’s Blueberry Festival, offered educational opportunities for youth and adults to learn music and the arts and arranged the donation of the gallery space to other local organizations for their events, classes and meetings. She said she is currently renting a studio to continue working on her sculptures in bronze, clay, marble and various mediums. She is also giving art classes to high school students and adults.
If we now turn the clock way back, you might be amazed to learn the incredible background of the arts in Perth Amboy. Perth Amboy was indeed the site of either the first or second art gallery in the United States of America. The Arts Council may consider the following facts in their fundraising and programming efforts. This colonial “gallery” was set up by the painter John Watson (1685-1768), in or shortly after 1730, and contained works by both Watson and European artists which Watson acquired on a trip back to Scotland in that year. The gallery or “picture house”, as it was called, adjoined his residence on Water Street, just south of Market. This gallery was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. By the way, the other contender for the first art gallery in the US is painter John Smibert's gallery, which he opened in Boston in 1730.
Also in Perth Amboy, the site of Eagleswood had existed. This was first set up as an experimental community (the Raritan Bay Union) in the 1850s, and quickly became an artists' colony in the 1860s. George Inness, the famous landscape painter, lived and worked here from 1864 to 1867. Louis Comfort Tiffany (yes, that Tiffany) studied painting with Inness here. His house and studio stood on the site of the carwash on Convery Boulevard near Smith Street. Sadly, it was torn down in the 1990s.
If you wish to serve on the Arts Council or be included in the Artists Registry, please contact Liz Mery Ramirez at 732-826-1690 ext. 4325.
Additional Note: An open mic started about one month ago at Troy Turkish Mediterranean Restaurant, 547 Kennedy St,Perth Amboy New Jersey, Corner of Route 35 N, two blocks past Walgreens. It is every Wednesday night with start time 8:00 p.m., sign up at 7:30. There are some very talented singers and musicians performing and the cuisine is excellent. BYOB. Troy telephone: 732 826-3326, with Open Mic Coordinator Miss Anna Lawrence, singer/guitarist, at missannalawrence@gmail.com.
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