Art Fair 14C announces the inaugural Jersey City Art Week, a citywide visual arts event to be held October 12 to 15. The event brings together Art Fair 14C, the Jersey City Art and Studio Tour, Mana Contemporary’s Fall Open House, and the International Sculpture Center’s annual conference. Announced in February, Jersey City Art Week is poised to be the premier visual arts event of the fall and will cement Jersey City as northern New Jersey’s visual arts destination.
Executive Director Robinson Holloway says, “The Art Fair 14C team has been working incredibly hard since last winter on the enormous tasks of organizing both Art Fair 14C and the Studio Tour. We have programming in place that will ensure that these amazing visual artists will be seen, and that art lovers will have an extraordinary week of art to view – and buy!”
The 5th Edition of Art Fair 14C will be held October 12 to 15 at the CRRNJ Terminal Building (1 Audrey Zapp Dr.) in Liberty State Park. This year, 33 esteemed New Jersey artists were selected for The Showcase, including returning artists Tim Daly (Hoboken), Kathleen Beausoleil (Little River), Kirk Maynard (Orange) and Ben Fine (Jersey City), local favorites Joe Waks (Bayonne), DISTORT (Jersey City) and Clarence Rich (Hampton), and early career artists Teena Soni (Somerset) and Jennifer Martinez (Jersey City). The Showcase will also pay tribute to Jersey City artist Robert Kogge (1953-2023).
Hundreds of local and international artists are slated to participate at Art Fair 14C over 80 exhibition spaces.
The 34th Annual Jersey City Art and Studio Tour, the signature arts event that celebrates the vibrancy and creativity of Jersey City’s visual arts community, will be held October 13 to 15. This year, Art Fair 14C took over operations of JCAST from the City of Jersey City, which is facing budget cuts.
Although the event remains citywide, there is a renewed focus this year on walkability and the majority of exhibitions and open studios will be downtown. There are five official JCAST group shows that range from the highly conceptual to the epitome of accessibility.
- I Would Prefer Not To” — curated by Mana Contemporary director Kele McComsey at Art 150 (157A First St
- “u_titled” — curated by Kristine Go at Art 150 (157A First St)
- “No Judgments: An Uncurated Show” — curated by no one at Brunswick Center (189 Brunswick St.)
- “Tickled Pink” — at Newport Centre (30 Mall Dr. W)
- “Beyond Conflict: Veterans & Peacetime Art” — Curated by Greg Brickey at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Community Center at Pershing Field (201 Central Ave.)
Participating galleries include: Novado Gallery (110 Morgan St), Art House Gallery (345 Marin Blvd), SMUSH (340 Summit Ave) and Deep Space (77 Cornelison Ave). Artists across the city will open their studios to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 6 PM. Mana Contemporary will also host its fall open studios on Sunday, October 15, 12 to 6 PM.
Select walking and bus tours will be offered throughout the weekend. The online maps with participating artists, galleries, and venues and tour schedules will be available on wwww.artfair14c.com/jcast
Throughout the summer, JCAST Director Tina Maneca has spearheaded a show #2000Bananas, a fundraiser show for the studio tour. With the support of ceramicist Beth DiCara of Evening Star Studio, local artists including Dylan Egon, Robert Piersanti, Gail M. Boykewich, Stephanie Romano, Frank Ippolito and many more, painted ceramic bananas. #2000Bananas will be on view and available for purchase at Art Fair 14C.
The International Sculpture Center (ISC), based in Hamilton Township, brings their 30th annual conference to its home state for the first time. The conference, October 10 to 15, will feature a group exhibition at Nimbus Arts Center (329 Warren St.) during the studio tour and an exhibition space for ISC members at Art Fair 14C. Additional public programming will be announced.