Through its State Council on the Arts, New Jersey has granted $677,818 to Hudson County arts organizations for operations in the fiscal year of 2024. To a working artist in Jersey City, that probably sounds like a hefty purse. But it’s only a little more than two percent of the public money that’ll be granted […]
Tris McCall
Tris McCall has written about art, architecture, performance, politics, and public culture for many publications, including the Newark Star-Ledger, the Bergen Record, Jersey Beat, the Jersey City Reporter, the Jersey Journal, the Jersey City Independent, and New Jersey dot com. He also writes about things that have no relevance to New Jersey. Not today, though.
Posted inBergen Lafayette, Recreation and events
The Vegetarian Option: Pinwheel Garden
Pinwheel Garden (318 Communipaw) has a slight proximity problem. The dumpling and noodle restaurant is right next to Mordi’s Sandwich Shop. Mordi’s is not really a place to sit down for a long dinner or even a short one, but the sandwiches there are so good that alternative experiences need to be superb to justify […]
Posted inRecreation and events
Amidst Fanfare and a Parade, Art House Productions Cuts the Ribbon
It was not spontaneous, but it was sincere. Grown men and women in shiny, conical party hats paraded south on Marin Boulevard to the train station in the midday July sun. They followed a brass band, clapped, and shook noisemakers as they walked. The party favors (and pink-frosted slices of celebratory cake) were supplied by […]
Posted inVisual Arts
At the CoolVines ArtWall, Kim Bricker Chases the Sun
Kim Bricker’s work is a dare. Not a loud or boastful one, and certainly not an aggressive one, but a challenge nonetheless. Hers is the quiet, measured voice at the party that is somehow heard over the din. What she asks of you is to step close and concentrate. She wants you to use your […]
Posted inPerforming Arts
Rogue Waves July: Live Music Picks in Jersey City
July means music in the open, out in public places: by the fountain in Lincoln Park, near the flags at the south end of Liberty State Park on Tuesdays, in the shadow of the great cylinders at Berry Lane on Thursday nights. Bookings at these shows can be hit or miss, but it’s tough to […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Amelia Shields Floors It at Deep Space
Amelia Shields paints cars that look like hot dogs. Fairground hot dogs, mind you; nothing upmarket. Her roadsters have two puffy outer wings that swell like the halves of a split bun, and a narrow interior where the driver sits. In the mixed-media show “Joy Ride,” which closes amidst fanfare and special events at Deep […]
Posted inPerforming Arts
Review: Horseshoe Empire and the Irrepressible Ghost of Frank Hague
Every East Coast city has had a legendary mayor — a superhero, or supervillain, who embodies the town’s aspirations, creative energies, its strengths, and its flaws. Boston has Curley. New York has LaGuardia. We’ve got Frank Hague. If you’re from Jersey City, you might think, not unreasonably, that our guy could lick their guy. That’s part of […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Child’s Play and Earth Magic at Evening Star Studio
The word clay rhymes with play. That’s an illustration of the deep associative wisdom of the English language. There’s a reason that child artists are often given clay to fashion. Clay begs to be manipulated. It’s more forgiving than working in stone, and more elemental than synthetics. A sculptor in clay is encouraged by […]
Posted inFood and Fun
The Vegetarian Option: Corto
We continue our vegetable-forward look at Jersey City’s most acclaimed restaurants with a trip to Corto (507 Palisade Ave.), an established favorite in the Heights. Unlike Ondo, the subject of last month’s column, Corto isn’t squeaky-new. Its cooks, led by executive chef Matthew Moschella, have been serving streamlined, ambitious, unfussy Italian-inspired food to hungry visitors since […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Contrasting Art Shows at Eonta Space and St. Paul’s for JC Fridays
You don’t have to be squeamish or euphemistic to think of the lavatory as the reading room. Bathrooms guarantee a kind of solitude that can be hard to find elsewhere in the apartment, and reading requires concentration. If you’re in the loo, you’re (probably) not on the computer. As literacy continues its agonizing decline, the […]