BLOOMFIELD — Bloomfield’s first “Art Crawl,” an opportunity for art lovers, or just the curious, to view artistic works by township residents, will take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10. The event is sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church on the Green.
The idea for the crawl was advocated by the Sanctuary on the Green Alliance or SOGA, the committee aligned with the church for recommending extra-church activities, but which is independent from the church. The Art Crawl, as implied, is a walkable event.
“We’re starting small,” said Adam Cruz, the SOGA member behind the crawl. “The committee’s focus for this is for around the Green, including Sacred Heart Church, the Bloomfield Civic Center, Bloomfield High School and nearby businesses. They’ll all be crawl stops. The purpose is to celebrate the arts.”
He said the notion for discovering art enrichment, in the heart of Bloomfield, developed for him after moving into his Monroe Place residence.
“I began noticing the incredible architecture in the area, especially after I went back to school, at Bloomfield College, for a degree in music technology,” he said. “I thought how I’d love to see the inside of some of these buildings.”
Cruz, a visual artist who focuses his art on Puerto Rican identity, desired to have a group show with other Bloomfield artists. He was a member of the Bloomfield Public Library Board when fate took a hand. He met Pastor Ruth Boling, of the Church on the Green, who told him she needed SOGA board members. Cruz joined.
During this past summer, he brought his idea for the crawl to other committee members. It was OK-ed and brought to the township. Mayor Jen Mundell liked it and the ball was rolling. The Township Council plans to proclaim “Bloomfield Arts and Cultural Day,” in early October. The SOGA committee meanwhile reached out to township artists. They fell in to mount an exhibition during the township’s annual HarvestFest on Saturday, Oct. 10.
“Come to the HarvestFest,” Cruz said, “and stay for the crawl. Or come to the crawl, and stay for the fest.”
He said 11 artists have agreed to show multiple works. There will be 11 sites where they can be viewed. He will also exhibit his own work. While illuminating Puerto Rican, he said it has a punk vibe to it.
Two artists who will be showing with Cruz are Patricia Marinaro and Maria Estrela.
Marinaro, a Bloomfield High School graduate, Class of 1977, is Bloomfield born and raised. She attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts and later, Parson School of Design. She works professionally as a theatrical stage hand and scenic painter. She will exhibit collages.
“The way the world is going now,” she said, “I consider my work prayers. I’m an outsider and sometimes you just have to shut off the TV.”
Estrela was born and raised in Portugal. Her work is collages and mixed-media. She works as a physical therapist assistant.
“I started with photography when I was 13,” she said. “This type of work I’m doing now, I started in 2008. Most of the work I’ll exhibit I created in Portugal this year.”
She said that art is a way of healing and showing an artist’s world to others.
“We’re opening our hearts,” she said. “Bloomfield needed this so bad.”
Other artists involved in the crawl include: Sheila Ciudadreal, Victoria Esquilin, John S. Masi, Oscar Marin, Moira Pernambuco, Josefina Rosario-Simone, Kassaye Selassie, Erick Stone, Peter C. Syak, Lovlee Tang and Sara Wolfe.
Photos Courtesy of Maria Estrela
About the Author
