• By Mabel Pais

THEME: REDEFINING & REBUILDING COMMUNITY

The Creating Change Network, a program hosted by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey that aims to build a more equitable, just, accessible and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey, has curated a line-up of 11 FREE public arts events in celebration of the National Day of Racial Healing, which takes place January 17, 2023.

New Jersey Arts Events will take place January 16-24, and will feature both in person and online offerings. All events are offered free of charge to the public. The full lineup, including links for reserving tickets can be found at  jerseyarts.com/ndorh.

The Creating Change Network, in partnership with the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center at Rutgers University – Newark sought participation from artists and arts organizations to create events focused on “Redefining and Rebuilding Community” related to race and racism. “It has been a pleasure to partner with the Creating Change Network,” says Sharon Stroye, Director of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Center and Director of Public Engagement in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University – Newark. “The mission of the TRHT Center at Rutgers University – Newark is to draw on the methodologies and strategies of the humanities and the arts within a social justice framework, where RU – N and diverse community partners can engage in an arc of interactive programming designed to change the narrative about race and race relations in Newark and beyond.”

“The theme for National Day of Racial Healing 2023 is Redefining and Rebuilding Community,” Stroye continues. “ “After a global pandemic, the racial reckoning the world is experiencing, and the divisive political rancor, how do we redefine and rebuild inclusive communities for all people? The Creating Change Network is a strategic and collaborative partner in promoting racial healing and relationship building throughout the New Jersey arts community.”

“The National Day of Racial Healing is a critical platform enabling individuals and organizations across the country to participate in the recognition that awareness and action are imperative to healing our nation’s racial crisis. This opportunity for our arts community to participate, supports our goal of creating change and moving this conversation forward to transform our workplace and how we engage with each other,” says Donna Walker-Kuhne, Senior Advisor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Chair of the Creating Change Steering Committee.

New Jersey Arts Events for the 2023 National Day of Racial Healing:

Standing in Solidarity Series

JAN 3, 2023 – JAN 24, 2023 | WEBCAST

Culturally Responsive Arts Education (CRAE) Workout and Conversations

JAN 16, 2023 – MAR 10, 2023 | VIDEO CONFERENCE

RUST Documentary Film Discussion With Filmmakers Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno and NJIT Students

JAN 17, 2023 | WEBCAST

Just ADD Sound

JAN 19, 2023 | WEBCAST

Smoke

JAN 21, 2023 | NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY CENTENNIAL HALL

Grief Love: A Theatrical Performance

JAN 21, 2023 | VIDEO CONFERENCE

Untold Stories of Storied People

JAN 21, 2023 | THE NEWARK MUSEUM OF ART

Flower From Resilience

JAN 21, 2023 | PLAINSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM

Back to the Woods

JAN 22, 2023 | WEBCAST

Feel The Beat! African Dance & Drum & More

JAN 22, 2023 | CENTER FOR MODERN DANCE EDUCATION (LIVE AND BY VIDEO CONFERENCE)

Redefining & Building Community Within Ourselves

JAN 24, 2023 | VIDEO CONFERENCE

Learn more about each of the above events at jerseyarts.com/ndorh

The Creating Change Network

The Creating Change Network is a collaboration between New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey, the state’s two largest arts service organizations, with a mission to build a more equitable, just, accessible and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey. Learn more at njtheatrealliance.org/creating-change-network.

New Jersey Theatre Alliance

Founded in 1981, New Jersey Theatre Alliance was the first statewide service organization for professional, not-for-profit theatre companies in the United States, and is a leader in developing model programs that unite, promote, strengthen, and cultivate professional theatre in New Jersey. Learn more at njtheatrealliance.org.

The ArtPride New Jersey Foundation

The ArtPride New Jersey Foundation promotes the value of the arts to New Jersey’s quality of life, education, and economic vitality through research and a variety of programs and services. For more information about ArtPride, visit ArtPrideNJ.org

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AMERICAN RIVER – A JOURNEY DOWN THE PASSAIC

Passaic River. (Photo Credit : Americanriver.film)

• By Mabel Pais

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will screen ‘American River,’ a journey down the Passaic river, a feature-length documentary by Chatham filmmaker Scott Morris on Friday, January 20, 2023 7:00 PM. The screening will be followed by a talk-back session for the audience with Morris, Mary Bruno (aquatic ecologist, author, actor) and her guide, expert kayaker Carl Alderson.

Mary Bruno spent her childhood along one of the most polluted waterways in America.  Decades later, she returns to kayak the river of her youth and tells its story.

‘American River’ is an exciting cinematic adventure about an ambitious 4-day kayak trip down the Passaic River. Equal parts a scientist’s memoir of growing up on the river that inspired her life’s work, a history of the Garden State’s growth and development, and a gorgeous travelogue that offers incredible bird’s-eye panoramas of the state’s stretches of pristine wilderness, the film American River was inspired by aquatic ecologist Mary Bruno’s book, ‘An American River: From Paradise to Superfund, Afloat on New Jersey’s Passaic,’ published in 2012.

Captured in exquisite detail by a fifteen-person film crew with ten 4K cameras filming from the land, the air and, often, from the bow of Bruno’s kayak, the documentary charts not just their travels but how the Passaic shaped New Jersey’s history.

“NJPAC’s role as an anchor cultural institution means this Arts Center is where our community comes together to talk about our history, our future and what’s most important to us,” says NJPAC President and CEO John Schreiber. “We are excited to offer our community this opportunity to learn more about the river that in many ways made our city what it is today — and to find how the work of their neighbors has been so instrumental in saving the river for our children and grandchildren.”

Learn more at americanriver.film. 

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Cuisine and Spirituality)