A Preemptive Strike

Back in January, then SICA director Doug Ferrari mentioned that he was looking for Asbury area artists for a show up in Rahway, so I sent him a variety of unrelated images, not knowing what was being looked for.  Eventually these images ended up on an online database, and about a month ago we got the first information about the proposed show.  At last night's critique, Molly mentioned an e-mail that had come in during the day (while I was at work) with more specific information, as Doug had also recruited her to be part of this.  I read it late last night, but was too tired to write about it until this morning.

Not long after the demise of SICA, Doug popped up in a new job, assistant director of Arts Guild New Jersey, which was last seen on this blog under its previous name, the Rahway Arts Guild.  I had 9 prints there in a curated group show back in 2009, and Molly had four.  The mission of SICA had been to bring high art (NYC style gallery art) to the Jersey Shore, where most local galleries tend to show beach scenes, landscapes, flowers, and other non-adventurous subjects not likely to challenge or offend the casual vacationing visitor.  And every summer, beach towns up and down the Jersey coast (such as Long Branch and Asbury, where SICA was headquartered during its existence) get invaded by swarms of "bennies", a local term for vacationers from out of the area.  The MTV Jersey Shore show documented one common strain of bennies.  If you are in the hospitality or recreation business, the summer months are your life blood, and the summer holidays are your Black Friday.  If you're a year round resident with no financial ties to tourism, you tend to dread the crowds, traffic, and obnoxious behavior that come with this time of year.  His pitch for this multi-location group show in Rahway, called "Preemptive Strike," is that before we get attacked by the annual invaders from the north, we shore artists will have an attack of our own, though one marked by culture, and perhaps reminding the people up there that our area is more than just beaches and bars.

The new information gives us the locations where our work will go.  This show will use all four of the works I submitted.  Two prints will be hung in the AGNJ main building, the gallery where we showed four years ago.  I will also have one piece each at two other locations, both about 2 blocks down the street from the gallery, so I will be able to distribute the four pieces without having to run around all over town.  (some information from the chart is missing for Molly's pieces, but it appears she will have work in at least two of those locations I am in)  No word yet as to delivery dates, but the show opens as part of a big street festival in about 3 weeks, so it will be soon.  I'll post more details as we get closer. I have to reframe one small piece, but the rest are ready to go.