MAPLEWOOD CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH
In honor of Black History Month, the Township of Maplewood has joined with local non-profit, community and business partners to sponsor more than 40 artistic, cultural and educational events and activities throughout the month of February to celebrate and raise awareness of the contributions and achievements Black Americans have made to the fabric of our society.
Arts Organizations - Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Information
The Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant program was established by The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, signed into law on December 27, 2020. The program includes $15 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance.
NJLM - Show Off Your City 2021 Photo Contest Open!
2021 Show Off Your City judging day is February 15. Please send in your photos of how local residents and officials worked and played and thrived in these pandemic days. Entries will be posted on the League’s Facebook page, website and some will be featured in the April issue of NJ Municipalities magazine, and possibly other issues. A winner will be selected and receives a free League publication of their choice.
Artist Spotlight: Claire Sinclair
Long-time Maplewoodian and Tuscan School kindergarten teacher, Claire Sinclair, was awarded 3rd place for the Maplewood 2020 Photo Contest with her entry titled, ‘Tuscan Art Camp’.
“My favorite things to photograph are flowers and candid moments of joy in our community. I love being able to photograph stories that capture the essence of our two towns. The Halloween Parade, Dickens Village, and The Duck Races are just a few of these events where I can depict our two towns in all their glory, it makes me proud to live here.” — Claire Sinclair
MAPLEWOOD, 1 of 25 coolest towns in America to visit in 2021
From www.matadornetwork.com - In this beautiful New Jersey suburb, Magnolia trees blossom in the spring, lending the neighborhood a storybook quality. Though Maplewood is just a short 30- to 45-minute commute from New York City and Jersey City by car, you probably won’t want to leave once you get there.
Artist Spotlight: Joy Yagid
Professional Photographer, Joy Yagid received 2nd place in the Maplewood 2020 Photo contest for her black and white entry titled, “A wintery View from the Oakland Road Bridge”. Joy beautifully captures the picturesque scene of the foot bridge in memorial park after a heavy snow.
10 Classical Concerts to Stream in January (via New York Times)
A Verdi opera from the Met and composers on the border of classical and pop are among the highlights.
As the live performing arts still reel from the coronavirus pandemic, here are 10 highlights from the flood of online music content coming in January. (Times listed are Eastern.)
COVID Specific Grants for NJ Arts Organizations
Apply Today for the COVID Critical Needs Grant
Deadline to Apply: January 28, 2021, 4:00 PM EST
WHAT IS THE COVID CRITICAL NEEDS PROGRAM The COVID Critical Needs Program (CCN) is a single year grant program that provides support for COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) and safeguarding needs that meets the Council’s eligibility requirements.
Artist Spotlight: Tessa Elle Goldstein
“I wanted to showcase friends, and when I saw them laughing I thought — how great it would be to capture that because of the hard times we are all going through. And when you laugh it helps the soul and makes you feel happy again. Reminding all of us about the good there is, especially in our community.”
—Tessa Ella Goldstein
38 Poems by Black Authors Installed in Maplewood to Celebrate Black Lives Matter Movement
The poems are part of Maplewood’s Black Lives Matter Poetry Project—a rich assemblage of poems by American Black poets that are currently being installed throughout Maplewood’s shared spaces. In our business districts and pedestrian thoroughfares as well as parks, 38 poems printed on large banners will live among us during the coming months. As part of our public landscape, these poems are meant as points of reflection, to help us consider what it means to be free in the face of oppression. Poems by Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Ross Gay, Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton, Jericho Brown, Rita Dove, Tracy K. Smith, Elizabeth Alexander, Amanda Gorman, and other internationally acclaimed writers will hang next to the work of 13 vastly talented local poets, including teachers and students.
MAPLEWOOD 2020 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS!
Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture is pleased to announce Tessa Elle Goldstein as the 1st place winner of the MAPLEWOOD 2020 PHOTO CONTEST. Tessa’s photo, “Laughter is the Best Medicine,” with 503 votes brought joy and chuckles to all who voted for it. Tessa is 11 years old and a photography enthusiast. 2nd Place was awarded to Joy Yagid and 3rd Place to Claire Sinclair.
Holiday Virtual Events - "Missing 'The Nutcracker'? How to Get Your Holiday Fix at Home
By The New York Times
Many seasonal mainstays have been reimagined for online viewing this year. Here are some of our favorites, from “A Christmas Carol” to Handel’s “Messiah.”
We all have our holiday traditions. Maybe yours is seeing the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and gazing at the Rockefeller Center tree, all done up in lights. Well, this year “The Christmas Spectacular” is canceled, and that Norway spruce is just sorry looking (though organizers swear the tree will be beautiful by the time of its lighting on Dec. 2).
Still, many rituals endure this season, repurposed for online viewing. Below is a selection of offerings — some beloved mainstays, a few cheeky upstarts — which you can indulge in watching from home.
Maplewood to Host Walk-Through Holiday Tree Lighting Experience at Springfield Ave. Gazebo, Dec. 13
With this December being one we will surely remember, the Maplewood Community Services Department is bringing a unique, walk-through holiday experience to the Springfield Avenue Gazebo on Sunday, December 13th from 1pm to 3pm. “During the pandemic, we can’t gather together as we usually would to light our Springfield Avenue tree, but we have been working hard planning an outdoor event to bring some joy and cheer in the safest way possible. The biggest relief during these quarantine times has been seeing our masked program participants and their smiling eyes!” said Melissa Mancuso, Director of Community Services for Maplewood
Artist Spotlight: Lydia Johnson Dance
Lydia Johnson’s passion for encouraging children to create dances led to the founding of the Lydia Johnson Dance School in 1998. Lydia Johnson Dance (LJD), the Professional Dance Company was founded in 1999.
”Johnson is a craftsman and a poet; her works, which stress the ensemble and attend closely to the music, have an ebb and flow in addition to a strong emotional current. The basis of her technique is ballet, and her dancers are strong.” — The New Yorker Magazine
Sony is Calling for Female Photographers
Sony wants more female photographers for its Alpha Female ambassador program, with grants for projects which offer $5,000, a full frame Sony camera and lens, and more.