Outdoor events involving regional artists and architects may provide an ideal and illuminating and fun day out. Here are several autumn happenings:
Art All Day
Artworks Trenton presents its annual Art All Day. The city-wide event includes artists’ studio tours, gallery displays, pop-up events, public art tours, and creative showcases. The starting center where information and maps are available is the Artworks Trenton building at 19 Everett Alley at Montgomery Street.
One new feature is the “Stepping Into Tomorrow” Asphalt Art Project at the Trenton Transit Center. The project artist is Newark-born George Bates who has created public art works around the nation, including hand painted and fired glass works for the New York City MTA.
“Stepping Into Tomorrow” is funded by a 2020 Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Grant. Trenton was one of only 16 municipalities nationwide to receive such funding.
The asphalt art project complements the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/New Jersey Transit sponsored “TRANSITional Art Project” also at the Trenton Transit Center. Its 10 banners and five installations involve area artists Liz Amaral, Laura Beard, Leon Rainbow, Chee Bravo, Rapael Ogoe, and Wills Kinsley.
Art All Day will also be partnering with the Ciclovia: Open Streets Trenton project that provides residents and visitors the opportunity to reimagine city street use beyond car transport. Free. Saturday, September 18, noon to 6 p.m.
Artworks Trenton, 19 Everett Alley, Trenton. 609-394-9436 or www.artworkstrenton.org.
Sukkah Village
Princeton-area architects and designers are marking the eight-day Jewish holiday of Sukkot with an 11-day display of sukkahs, or temporary shelters, on public sites around town.
The event, which runs from Sunday, September 19, through Wednesday, September 29, is being produced by Joshua Zinder, managing partner of Nassau Street-based architecture firm JZA+D, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks.
The sukkahs will be designed by eight architecture and design firms from across the state along with the winners of a New Jersey Institute of Technology student design competition. A total of 12 sukkahs will be erected on sites provided by venue partners, with 10 designed by eight practicing architects from across the state and two designed and built by student teams.
Additional Sukkah Village programming includes panel discussions, walking tours, a film screening, and a family-oriented arts and crafts gathering.
The event will also promote the impact of design in addressing key social issues including homelessness, food insecurity, sustainability, and the struggles of refugees.
The Princeton venues where the sukkahs will be displayed include the Jewish Center of Princeton, 435 Nassau Street; St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 216 Nassau Street; the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street; Hulfish Street at 3 Palmer Square; Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street; Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street; and the YWCA Princeton, 59 Paul Robeson Place. Free. September 19 through 29.
www.sukkahvillage.com.
Raising the Woof
The Trenton City Museum is opening the “doors” of Cadwalader Park to the pet community for a Pause 4 Paws “Raising the ‘Woof’” celebration. The day opens with a non-denominational blessing of the pets — including stuffed animals — outside the museum mansion by Father Dennis Appledite from Sacred Heart Church in Trenton.
Representatives of Trenton Animals Rock, a Trenton group involved with animal rescue and adoptions, and Hounds of Heck, the Stockton, New Jersey, dog obedience center, will provide workshops and discussions.
Other activities include a clothesline art competition featuring cash prize winners selected by the Trenton-based “Ren & Stimpy Show” artist and Trentonwaves podcast founder Frank Sasso, and “Pet Museum Memberships.” Pre-registration and proof of rabies vaccination is a must. Free. Saturday, October 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Trenton City Museum, Cadwalader Park, Trenton. 609-989-3632 or www.ellarslie.org.
HoBART
The fourth annual HoBART art show — a group show featuring work by noted regional sculptors, artists, and artisans from Delaware River communities — returns in early October with an indoor and outdoor exhibition on the Steinbesier Farm, 718 Route 519, Frenchtown.
Exhibiting artists include sculptors Harry H. Gordon (Lambertville), Kate Graves (Morrisville), Ray King (Stockton), Bruce Lindsay (Trenton), Rory Mahon (Hopewell), Eric Schultz (Hopewell); and mixed-media artists Ilene Dube (West Windsor), Aylin Green (West Windsor Arts Council director), Joy Kreves (Ewing), and others. The event is hosted by Paul Steinbesier, a landscape designer and custom stonework specialist.
HoBART 2021 — the name comes from an amalgamation of Hunterdon, Bucks, and Art — is part of a collaborative effort by River Arts Creatives, a collective of arts organizations, galleries, and businesses celebrating and promoting art and creativity in the Delaware River towns. Free. Saturdays and Sundays, October 2, 3, 9, and 10, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
www.facebook.com/HobartArtShow.
