TAWA Presents Trenton Making

Several prominent artists linked to the City of Trenton will share new work and reflect on what can enhance the region’s cultural life on Saturday, March 27, 2010, at Ellarlsie, The Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park in Trenton, NJ.


The event, entitled “Trenton Making,” is part of the annual Spring Forward activities, presented by the Trenton Artists Workshop Association in association with Co/Works.


Participating in the event scheduled between 11 AM and 3 PM are playwright and screenplay writer William Mastrosimone, poet Yusef Komunyakaa, and visual artist Mel Leipzig.


Trenton native William Mastrosimone is the author of the plays “Extremities,” “The Woolgatherer,” “Afghan Women,” and “Bang Bang You’re Dead”; the films “With Honors” and “The Beast”; and the several television mini series, including “Into the West” and a biography of Frank Sinatra. He will be led in a discussion by Trenton based professional theater director and past artistic director of George Street Playhouse Maureen Heffernan.


Trenton resident Yusef Komunyakaa is the author of several books of poems, including “Warhorses; Taboo: The Wishbone Trilogy, Part 1”; “Pleasure Dome: New & Collected Poems, 1975-1999”; “Talking Dirty to the Gods” ; “Thieves of Paradise”; and “Neon Vernacular: New & Selected Poems 1977-1989,” for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award; and “Magic City.” The writer will be joined by other regionally based poets representing regional publications such as “Ragged Sky Press” and “The Trenton Review,’ including nationally known poet Doc Long, poet and editor Ellen Foos, poet and acclaimed translator Jean Hollander, Carlos Hernández Peña, and others.


Trenton based visual artist Mel Leipzig’s work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art; Jersey City Museum; Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick; The University of Pennsylvania, Architecture Archives; Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT; The New Jersey State Museum, Trenton; The Cooper - Hewitt Museum for Decorative Arts, New York; Montclair Art Museum, Montclair; Yale Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; The White House Collection, Washington, DC. On this day the artist will give the area unveiling of his five panel painting of celebrated Princeton based architect Michael Graves. The artist will be interviewed by museum curator and Trenton resident Helen Shannon.

The event is designed to focus attention to Trenton’s role of being an ongoing home for artists and a place for creativity.

Programs are free and held at Ellarslie, The Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park, Trenton, NJ.

More info will be posted on the TAWA Web site.

CHANGE

Hello TAWA members and friends,

Change is upon us! Very shortly the look of our website and blog will change with a newly created overhaul. The enhancements will not only make the navigating more user friendly but improve some of the behind the scenes features which makes the management of the website much easier. Some of these features include:

** A fully web-enabled edit feature. What the heck does that mean? (see, I can read your mind) That means that several of us could log-in (provided we have a password) from anywhere in the world and edit or post an article. This will allow us to have more timely articles relating to all of our interesting work.

** GALLERIES ** This is a very nice feature where all paid (current) members of TAWA will have their own profile page complete with images of their work, a brief bio and links to their own personal website, blog or posterous.

** Calendar of Events - Here we will be posting all types of things like Workshop schedules, up-coming shows and their deadlines and for paid (current) members please let us know if you're having an up-coming show at another venue, we'll post it on the calendar, include a story on the main site and update our blog (Talk about coverage!!)

We will be sending out periodic snail mail to our members but this will be on a limited basis. This helps the environment, saves on administrative effort and money for postage. We recognize not everyone can get to a computer but that is a small portion of our membership and to keep dues low we've got to maximize new technology.

One of the main benefits of our organization is that with so many members doing amazing things, the more we capture on our website, the more helpful it is in getting all member work a chance to be seen and admired. Who knows, build some amazing new contacts!

We hope you enjoy the new look. One final note - all current members will be considered grandfathered. Beginning June 1, 2010 all membership renewal is due and that will be our annual renewal date. Members wanting to participate in our upcoming summer shows 'Art & Soul' and/or 'Face Value' will be asked to renew at the time of entry. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

Best Regards,

Robert Girandola
President, TAWA

Upcoming Events 2010

Workshops and Exhibitions:

March 6 – Workshop: “Web Sites for Artists,” including the launch of TAWA’s new Web site featuring a member’s gallery link (free for all TAWA members). Location: The Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park Time: 11am - Noon

March 27 – “Trenton Making” a Spring Forward day of presentations and explorations, including the premiere of a five panel painting of famed architect Michael Graves by Mel Leipzig, a discussion with playwright and screenplay writer William Mastrosimone, and a reading featuring award winning playwright Yusef Komunyakaa (free for TAWA members and general public). Location: The Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park Time: Late Morning Start Exact Time TBD

May 1 – Entry deadline for Summer Show “Art and Soul,” a juried exhibition exploring art and spirituality, opening June 25^th. Open to TAWA members using any medium and of all spiritual beliefs. Juried by visual artists and director of the Villanova University Art Gallery, Reverend Richard Cannuli.

May 8, 15, and 22 – Workshop: “Secret Techniques of the Old Masters,” oil painting with David Rivera; Tuition for the three days is $125 ($75 for TAWA members). Location: The Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park Time: 10am to 1pm

May 22 – Entry deadline for Summer Show “Face Value,” a juried exhibition celebrating traditional and contemporary approaches to portraiture. Open to all TAWA members working in any medium. Juried by Lonn Braender, director, BOIs Gallery, New Hope; Joanne Donnelly, director, Gallery 125, Trenton; and Martha Press, director, Farnsworth Gallery, Bordentown, NJ.