Center for the Arts

Gallery Exhibitions

A Sunny Day in the Shade

Jill Kerwick lives on a farm in Red Bank and Costa Rica in the winter. She graduated from NYU with an MA in Fine Arts (1995) and received her BFA from Moore College of Art, Phila, PA. (1978). Jill works in oils on linen, acryla gouache on paper or linen and photography. “Whatever medium likes me at the moment.” Her favored subjects include journeys and humorous human and animal situations. She has attended the Vermont Studio Center and Anderson Ranch, CO. She was accepted into the Cuttyhunk Island residency and will be going in September.  Jill exhibits her work at Auxier Kline, NYC. and Beauregard Fine Art, Rumson. Her work is in the slide registry of White Columns, NYC. Her works are in the public collections of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, the American Water Works Service Co. and the High School of Economics and Finance, NYC.

Candlelight Concerts

Tribute to Michael Jackson

This concert series was created with the intention of democratizing access to classical music, and the space and performers are illuminated by thousands of candles to create a truly magical experience. The String Quartet has a tentative program that includes songs such as I Want You Back, Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal,  Thriller, Remember the Time, and many more!

Candlelight Concerts

90s Unplugged

This concert series was created with the intention of democratizing access to classical music, and the space and performers are illuminated by thousands of candles to create a truly magical experience. The String Quartet has a tentative program that includes songs such as Smells Like Teen Spirit, Zombie, Don’t Speak, Wonderwall, Fly Away, and many more!

Tuesday Night Record Club

Saturday Night Fever

Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Saturday Night Fever. This event is offered BOTH in person and via Zoom. Join us in person at the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music on the Campus of Monmouth University or join us via zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation. Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Gallery Exhibitions

Jonas Mekas Film and Art Exhibition

Monmouth University, Department of Art & Design, in collaboration with Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park is pleased to present Double Trouble, a groundbreaking exhibition uniting the strong works of Dennis McNett (Wolfbat) and Ben Venom. McNett’s large-scale wood carvings and intricate prints stand in powerful dialogue with Venom’s punk-infused quilts and textile works. These boundary-pushing artists transform traditional techniques into bold cultural statements that challenge, provoke, and inspire.

Gallery Exhibitions

Daniel Johnston: My Baby My Universe II

Welcome to the world, of Daniel Johnston. This exhibition is the most comprehensive ever created of his work and is curated by his beloved sister who was his caretaker and art collaborator in later years, Marjory Johnston. Daniel Johnston, a singer-songwriter and visual artist whose childlike, haunted songs brought him acclaim as one of America’s most gifted outsider. Throughout his life, Johnston suffered from mental illness, yet in the spirit of hope, this helped his work become even more profound in his continuing artistic journey throughout his lifetime. In a career filled with stops and starts, Mr. Johnston became something of a man-child celebrity of the artistic underground, earning the admiration of rock stars like Kurt Cobain and Tom Waits as well as comparisons to William Blake. Johnston became known by fellowmusicians and the music press with songs, like “Speeding Motorcycle” and “Don’t Play Cards With Satan,” that had a poignant clarity yet showed glimpses of a fractured mind.

Art on Screen

Exhibition on Screen – Degas: Passion for Perfection

Never fully satisfied, many of Degas’ drawings and sculptures were kept in private during his lifetime but now, through close examination, they can be seen as some of the most beautifully detailed and expressive works in the modern era. Using written accounts by friends and commentators, and the narration of letters written by Degas himself, this film reveals a more complex truth behind one of the most influential French artists of the late 19th-century and serves as an exploration of the complex workings of Degas’ artistic mind.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Caro Claire Burke, Yesteryear

Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion!

World Cinema Series

EL Conde

The Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and the Center for the Arts at Monmouth University invite you to the first of the 2026-2027 Pearson’s World Cinema Series movie and discussion events. We will screen the darkly comedic satire El Conde (2023) directed by Pablo Larraín, followed by a post-screening Q&A session hosted by Chris DeRosa with Dr. Jeffery Jackson as discussant. Light refreshments will be provided. We hope to see you there!

Free & Open to the Public

Candlelight Concerts

Coldplay vs Imagine Dragons

This concert series was created with the intention of democratizing access to classical music, and the space and performers are illuminated by thousands of candles to create a truly magical experience. The String Quartet has a tentative program that includes songs such as Clocks, Radioactive, Fix You, Believer, Viva La Vida, and many more!

Candlelight Concerts

Tribute to Michael Jackson

This concert series was created with the intention of democratizing access to classical music, and the space and performers are illuminated by thousands of candles to create a truly magical experience. The String Quartet has a tentative program that includes songs such as I Want You Back, Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Thriller, Remember the Time, and many more!

Special Event

The Jury Experience – Death by AI: Who Pays the Price?

You’ve been called for jury duty. Step into a thrilling courtroom drama where the audience is the jury. Listen to testimonies, analyze evidence, and ultimately decide… guilty or not guilty? Enjoy a live theatre courtroom drama where you decide the final verdict. Make tough decisions throughout the show—your votes steer the story. Dissect witness testimonies, unpack evidence, and weigh every argument.

Special Event

The Jury Experience – Death by AI: Who Pays the Price?

You’ve been called for jury duty. Step into a thrilling courtroom drama where the audience is the jury. Listen to testimonies, analyze evidence, and ultimately decide… guilty or not guilty? Enjoy a live theatre courtroom drama where you decide the final verdict. Make tough decisions throughout the show—your votes steer the story. Dissect witness testimonies, unpack evidence, and weigh every argument.

Visiting Writers

Nadia Owusu

Nadia Owusu is a Brooklyn-based writer and urbanist. Her debut memoir, Aftershocks, was selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice and named one of the best books of 2021 by more than a dozen publications, including Time, Vogue, and Esquire. Nadia’s recent honors include a Creative Capital Award for her novel in progress, a Whiting Award, and fellowships from Yaddo, Art Omi, and Lighthouse Works. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Granta, The Guardian, Bon Appétit, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing at Columbia University and the Mountainview MFA program.

Tuesday Night Record Club

Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA

Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA. This event is offered BOTH in person and via Zoom. Join us in person at the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music on the Campus of Monmouth University or join us via zoom. Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Candlelight Concerts

Tribute to British Rock Legends

This concert series was created with the intention of democratizing access to classical music, and the space and performers are illuminated by thousands of candles to create a truly magical experience. The String Quartet has a tentative program that includes songs such as Here Comes the Sun, We Will Rock You, Blackbird, Another One Bites the Dust, Help!, and many more!

Candlelight Concerts

90s Hip-Hop on Strings

Featuring works from the 90s Hip Hop genre, Candlelight Concerts allow audiences to connect with the most iconic pieces of the greatest composers and listen to the top hits of well-known artists in a different way. The string quartet has a tentative program that includes Killing Me Softly, Can I Kick It, Gin and Juice, Hypnotize and many more! 

Art on Screen

Exhibition on Screen – Frida Kahlo, 90′

Take a journey through the life of a true icon, discover her art, and uncover the true story of her rebellious, passionate and turbulent life.

Making use of the latest technology to deliver previously unimaginable quality, we take an in-depth look at key works throughout her career. Using letters Kahlo wrote to guide us, this definitive film reveals her deepest emotions and unlocks the secrets and symbolism contained within her art. Created in close collaboration with world experts and those who knew her.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Don DeLillo, White Noise

Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion!

Adult Education Series

Creative Writing

Class Schedule: October 14, 21, and 28, 2026 | 7:30 – 9:00 PM

Whether you are embarking on your memoir or crafting your first work of fiction, the task of the writer is to develop compelling characters that connect with readers. Taking the “me out of memoir” allows you to develop your parents and loved ones as characters. In this three part course, we will utilize description, dialogue, and action to create characters that resonate with readers of any genre. No experience necessary, just a willingness to create characters to jump off the page!