WEST ORANGE, NJ — More than 100 visitors came out on a cold evening to experience heartwarming music, poetry, stories and family photo collages during the “Sharing our Stories” reception on Feb. 15 at the West Orange Arts Center.
The evening included a standing room–only presentation of poetry and short stories told by the participants and their collage memory storyboards. The diverse exhibit, curated by Carol Black-Lemon, features antique quilts, a chair dating back to mid 1800s, ’50 kitchen utensils and multiple tributes. The exhibit will be on view until Feb. 29 and represents stories as told by participants: Kim Alexander-Cook, Veronica Black, Carol Black-Lemon, Jan Carden, Monick David, Cheryl Forbes, Cynthia Hadley-Bailey, Carol Jenkins, Doris Moses, Sundra Parker, Deneise Smith, Temmie Tijani, Althia Tweiten and Gloria Watkins.
On Saturday, Feb. 29, the last day to see the exhibit, the West Orange Arts Council invites the community to an artist talk, “A Look into the Harlem Renaissance,” by historian Karen Jeffries-Wells, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the West Orange Arts Center at 551 Valley Road. For more information, visit www.woarts.org.