(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 19, 2019

MAHWAH, N.J.  – !!!Public Art???, a changing, multi-disciplinary exhibition exploring and questioning public art, opens on Wednesday, February 27, in the Kresge Gallery of the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts at Ramapo College.  There will be an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. with a curator and artists’ talk at 6 p.m.  The exhibition features a striking number of diverse educational events and performances, and continues on view through April 19.

Featured artists include: Shamell Bell, Bread and Puppet Theater (represented in video form), Peter A. Campbell, The DS Institute (Caitlin Foley, Misha Rabinovich, and Zach Dunn), Lady Pink, Lori Merhige, mObstudio at VCUarts, Francesca Scafuto and Terra Vandergaw, Matthew Shain, Gregory Sholette, and Howard Skrill.

According to Director of the Art Galleries and exhibition curator Sydney O. Jenkins, “This exhibition delves into the huge topic of Public Art by focusing on a few areas that are ripe for investigation: monuments, graffiti/murals, performative and political/social activist work, and the Percent for Art type of publicly funded art. From the mural installation by legendary street artist Lady Pink, to Matthew Shain’s ‘Post-Monument’ photographs about Confederate statues, to Shamell Bell’s street dance activism, the exhibition provides both vivid aesthetic experiences and fertile opportunities for inquiry.”

Several works will be presented outside the Berrie Center on the campus grounds. Some pieces will be more ephemeral or not on view for the entire run of the exhibition.

A partial roster of events includes:

• Empowering Women Artists: A Talk by Street Artist Lady Pink, March 6, 4:30 p.m. Kresge Gallery
• Art as Social Action: A Talk by Gregory Sholette, March 14, 1:30 p.m., Kresge Gallery

• Performances, Peter A. Campbell, April 10 and 11, Kresge Gallery

• Panel Discussion: Disruptive Blackness: Public Art and Choreographies of Power, April 3, 3 p.m., Kresge Gallery

• Street Dance Activism Workshop by UCLA Choreographer/Activist Shamell Bell: April 4, 1 p.m., Ramapo Arch

• Performance/Workshop: The Body as Gaia, Francesca Scafuto and Terra Vandergaw, April 18 and 19, location TBA

This project at Ramapo is funded in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Kresge Gallery is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 1-5 p.m. and
Wednesday from 1-7 p.m.

Ramapo College is closed for major holidays and for the week of March 18 due to Spring Break.

For further information, please contact Sydney Jenkins at 201-684-7147.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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