Our May Event: Field Trip to Mana Contemporary on 5/19

Join us for a private, guided tour of Mana Contemporary in Jersey City on Friday, May 19. If you have yet to visit this incredible arts space, you should definitely join us for this field trip!

Founded in 2011, Mana Contemporary is visual and performing arts center with a 27-acre campus in Jersey City. This unique operation combines galleries, a ballet company, studios for working visual artists, an art school, a winery, several restaurants, and...well, you really need to experience it.

For more info on this fascinating venue: http://manacontemporary.com/

We will meet at South Avenue Arts in Garwood at 8:45am, where you can leave your car free of charge. We will carpool from there. Our tour begins at 10am, and we will return at about 3pm. No reservations necessary, but wear comfortable shoes as this will be a walking tour. Members only for this special event. Not a member? You can join day of the event!

March recap: Juxtapose Gallery

Juxtapose Gallery hosted our March event this year, with a presentation and an informative Q&A session with owner - and WAA board member - Danielle D'Amico.

a full house of WAA members at Juxtapose Gallery

It's not every day that an artist has the opportunity to meet casually with a gallery owner - especially a successful gallery that has been continuously open in Westfield for over 40 years. This special event offered a relaxed & friendly environment in which to hear first-hand how a gallery works both with artists and art buyers.

owner Danielle D'Amico answering member questions

 
Attending artists were encouraged to ask Danielle the questions that they had always wanted to ask a gallery owner. It was a fascinating discussion, and another one of the unique opportunities that the WAA offers its many artist members.

Along with original fine art pieces, Juxtapose also offers expert framing & matting services to artists - and WAA members always receive a discount. Not a member yet? What are you waiting for?!

Our March Event at Juxtapose Gallery: Sunday, March 19

This event, the second of the season in which we will take a look at the business side of art, will be hosted by our board member Danielle D’Amico, owner of Juxtapose Gallery.

This is your chance to learn first-hand about the art gallery business from a gallery owner. Listen to Danielle talk – in her own gallery - about the history of Juxtapose, the type of art they have historically sold, what the Westfield art-buying audience is looking for in a local gallery, and learn about the selection process that she uses in evaluating the art and artists that she caries. We will also hear how Juxtapose offers expert framing and other services to artists - and don’t forget that WAA members always receive a discount!

Because we will be meeting in the gallery and surrounded by original artwork, we will not be offering refreshments at this event. However, this is a wonderful opportunity to have a treat or a conversation over a cup of coffee at one of the many establishments in downtown Westfield. Come for the art event, then make an afternoon in downtown.

Juxtapose Gallery, 58 Elm Street, Westfield

PEASE NOTE: In the event of inclement weather on the 19th, we may need to re-schedule. Check back here for details on the day of the event.

February Recap: Art & Music

Our February event - offered free to all in the Westfield community - delivered a beautiful mix of different forms of artistic expression as we explored the relationship between visual and musical art.

Dr. Thomson lecturing on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

Our dynamic guest presenter, Dr. Barbara Thomson, led us through an afternoon that alternated seamlessly between lecture, live piano, recorded musical selections, projected slides of paintings, an organ performance...and finally a guided art-making experience that put our new knowledge to use.

 WAA members & guests listen to Gunther Schuller's Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee

We chose to host this special event in Patton Hall at the First Congregational Church in Westfield because the facility provides easy access to a grand piano, an organ, and space to create art.

Dr. Thompson supported her discussion of the difference between Baroque and Romantic musical
structures with notes both on paper AND on the piano. That was a terrible pun, wasn't it?

   

Following a short walk to the church's sanctuary to hear Dr. Thomson perform Bach on the organ, many members stayed on to put their new learnings to use. Executive Board member Paul Federico led the group in creating images of musical instruments while listening to a range of diverse recorded musical selections. As anticipated, the music had a major impact on the resulting artistic compositions.

This unique presentation was a long time in the making, and we are grateful to the Westfield Foundation for providing the generous grant that made this presentation - and the use of this exceptional facility - possible.

We thank Dr. Thompson, the First Congregational Church of Westfield, and the Westfield Foundation for a wonderful afternoon of artistic education & exploration.

Making Connections: Art & Music on February 26

Join us in February as we host a presentation on the relationship between visual and musical art on Sunday, February 26^th from 1-4pm in Patton Hall at the First Congregational Church of Westfield, located at 125 Elmer Street. This event is free & open to all. 

We launched of our Making Connections lecture series last February with a presentation on Art & Poetry by professor, poet, & artist Michelle Greco.

In this second installment of our Making Connections series, we will take a look at Art & Music with accomplished lecturer, concert organist, & musical director Dr. Barbara Thomson, of Mountainside.

Dr. Thomson is Organist at Rutgers University, Monmouth Reform Temple, and First Congregational Church of Westfield, where she also Musical Director. As an organist, she has performed across the US and Europe, including at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. If you have attended concerts of the Westfield Symphony, you may have heard one of her insightful pre-performance lectures, or read her reviews as the classical music critic for the Westfield Leader/Scotch Plains Times.

Although visual & musical art are typically seen as two distinct forms of expression, Dr. Thomson will illustrate how they can inform each other beautifully. This afternoon event will focus on listening and visual association based on musical passages. Attendees will also participate in a guided art-making session... catch the muse! Light refreshments will be served.

The WAA gratefully acknowledges receipt of a generous grant from the Westfield Foundation that makes this event possible.