Center for the Arts

Gallery Exhibitions

Miriam Beerman: 1923–2022 NOTHING HAS CHANGED

This exhibition shines a spotlight on the late Miriam Beerman, a New Jersey artist whose works are included in the permanent collections of over 60 museums worldwide and a female pioneer in the 20th-century art world. Beerman (1923–2022) was one of the 20th-century’s most provocative artists, whose humanist expressionist works highlight her talent as a colorist. A pioneer as one of the first female artists to be given a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Beerman is part of a canon of 20th-century women artists who were nearly lost to obscurity due to their gender in a male-dominated art world. Influenced by the social injustice seen around her, Beerman shines a spotlight on the horror and pathos of man’s inhumanity to man. The themes prove to be timeless, resonating today as much as when they were created in the 20th century. Her life and art were explored in the 2015 documentary Miriam Beerman: Expressing the Chaos.

Closing Reception: December 11 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Gallery Exhibitions

Jeanine Pennell: Stepping Off the Page: Stories in Clay

An exhibition of work by artist Jeanine Pennell.

Opening Reception September 30, 2022   7 PM - 9 PM | Ice House Gallery

Gallery Exhibitions

“Classical Realism” with master painter – Scott Nickerson

This exhibit features work by painter Scott Nickerson and his core group of advanced students, and is a great example of the powerful influence one master painter can have on a school of artists.    

Opening Reception: October 28 from 5 pm to 7 pm

ArtNOW: Performance, Art, and Technology

The Woods – A mixed-reality, two-player cooperative game

“The Woods” is a mixed-reality, two-player cooperative game that addresses the perils of social isolation by promoting connections between people and actively engaging them through play. Using  Augmented Reality (AR) and 4-channel audio spatialization panning, players choreograph their movement in real-world space while interacting with birds, clouds, and other objects in virtual space. In pursuit of a shared goal, players experience an immersive sonic narrative of rumbling storm clouds and disconnected voices that culminate in stories of hope and reconciliation. The design intent behind “The Woods” is to illuminate human connections to others and to celebrate this through collaborative play.

Adult Education Series

Roots of Rock ’n’ Roll, Part II

Part two of the Roots of Rock ’n’ Roll course – a three-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole – continues exploring the foundations of the genre, this time exploring country, folk, and skiffle. How these art forms influenced both American and British artists will be studied in terms of instrumentation, singing style, and composition. In addition to multimedia presentations, class discussion and activities will enable attendees to identify the essential elements of rock.

Class Schedule: Thursdays - Dec. 1, Dec. 8 & Dec. 15 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Performing Arts Series

Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea – SOLD OUT

The annual holiday tradition returns with the ever lovable and charismatic Father Alphonse Stevenson conducting the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea for their 30th concert of carols and seasonal favorites. There’s simply no better way to start the holiday season than to spend a special evening with Father Alphonse, his 42-piece orchestra and distinguished vocalists as he provides humorous and personal anecdotes amidst a program of holiday classics and carols.

This event is sold out. If you would like to be put on the wait list for tickets please call the box office at 732.263.6889

Tuesday Night Record Club

Aretha Franklin, Young, Gifted, and Black

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. 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 Aretha Franklin, Young, Gifted, and Black.

World Cinema Series

Budrus

Join us for a World Cinema Series film screening/discussion illuminating the theme “Wartime Lives: Enduring and Transcending Violence and Occupation” by analyzing the message and impact of the film Budrus (Israeli/Palestinian/American, 2009). Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites Palestinian political factions and invites Israeli supporters to join an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

The Hours

The world-premiere staging of Kevin Puts’s The Hours, adapted from Michael Cunningham’s acclaimed novel, which also served as the inspiration for the Oscar-winning film, arrives in cinemas this December. In her highly anticipated return to the Met, soprano Renée Fleming joins soprano Kelli O’Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato to portray three women from different eras who grapple with their inner demons and their roles in society. Phelim McDermott, who recently created the Met’s acclaimed production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, directs this compelling drama, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct Puts’s powerful score.

Performing Arts Series

My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m Home For The Holidays!

After last season’s sell-out its another laugh filled evening of family chaos from the award-winning writer and comedian Steve Solomon. Steve is back with more wild and hilarious stories and characterizations about his family, friends and the other folks we meet whose sole purpose was to drive him into therapy in the first place. A time of Peace – a time of Joy – a time of remembering why you left home in the first place.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven

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! This month’s novel is NATIONAL BESTSELLER Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.

National Theatre: Broadcast in HD

Much Ado About Nothing

Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and John Heffernan (Dracula) lead the cast in Shakespeare’s romcom of sun, sea and mistaken identity.

The legendary family-run Hotel Messina on the Italian Riveria has been visited by artists, celebrities and royalty. But when the owner’s daughter weds a dashing young soldier, not all guests are in the mood for love. A string of scandalous deceptions soon surround not only the young couple, but also the adamantly single Beatrice and Benedick. Following the award-winning success of National Theatre Live’s Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra, director Simon Godwin returns with this irresistible comedy, broadcast live from the National Theatre stage.

Tuesday Night Record Club

Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings from Asbury Park

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. 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’s Greetings from Asbury Park.

Tuesday Night Record Club

REM’s Murmur

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. 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 REM, Murmur.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Fedora

Giordano’s exhilarating drama Fedora returns to the Met for the first time in 25 years, starring soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the title role of the 19th-century princess who falls in love with her fiancé’s murderer, Count Loris, sung by tenor Piotr Beczała. Soprano Rosa Feola is the Countess Olga, Fedora’s confidante, and baritone Artur Ruciński is the diplomat De Siriex. Marco Armiliato conducts David McVicar’s intricate production, with a fixed set that unfolds to reveal the opera’s settings: a palace in St. Petersburg, a fashionable Parisian salon, and a picturesque villa in the Swiss Alps.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer

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! This month’s novel is Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer.

Performing Arts Series

Pilobolus Big Five-Oh!

For this 50th anniversary celebration, Pilobolus questions its own “givens,” turns its traditions sideways, and brings its past into the future. As fresh and vibrant as ever, Pilobolus –that feisty arts organism– puts the “Oh!” in ​BIG FIVE OH!​, and continues to morph its way thrillingly into audiences’ hearts and minds. The celebration includes signature works from vintage classics to their trend setting innovative work in shadow.

Tickets on sale October 28 at noon

World Cinema Series

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Join us for a World Cinema Series film screening/discussion illuminating the theme “Wartime Lives: Enduring and Transcending Violence and Occupation” by analyzing the message and impact of the film Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnian, 2020). The film dramatizes the events of the Srebrenica massacre, during which Serbian troops sent Bosniak men and boys to death in July 1995 led by Serbian convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić. Named for its protagonist, Quo Vadis, Aida? exposes the events through the eyes of a mother named Aida, a schoolteacher who works with the United Nations as a translator. After three and a half years under siege, the town of Srebrenica, close to the northeastern Serbian border, was declared a UN safety zone in 1993 and put under the protection of a Dutch battalion working for the UN.

Performing Arts Series

The Doo Wop Project

The Doo Wop Project takes audiences on a journey featuring foundational tunes from the Crests, Belmonts and Flamingos through the vocal artistry of Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and The Four Seasons all the way to DooWopified versions of modern hits from Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, and Sam Smith. Featuring stars from the Broadway hits Jersey Boys, Motown: The Musical, and A Bronx Tale, The Doo Wop Project brings unparalleled authenticity of sound and vocal excellence to recreate—and in some cases entirely reimagine—the greatest music in American pop and rock history.

Tuesday Night Record Club

Sly and the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. 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 Sly and the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On.