Cultural Heritage Exhibition
Opening Reception: Sunday June 9, 4 – 6 pm

THEME
How has your cultural heritage influenced your art? This show seeks to examine the expression of cultural heritage through art. How does the past affect our view on the contemporary world? Whether it is the food, textiles, festivals, or family traditions, the art in this show will demonstrate how these experiences can be shared through visual art.

JURORS
Maria Naumik, Board of Trustees, Vice President, Arts and Education Center; Chairperson of the Monroe Twp Cultural Arts Commission; and Educator of Visual Arts in Monroe Twp.

Bethany Widrich, Associate Director of Arts Services for Middlesex County.

Maria Naumik has long been the Chairperson of the Monroe Twp Cultural Arts Commission and an Educator of Visual Arts, also in Monroe Twp. She serves as Vice President on the Board of Trustees for the Arts and Education Center. Maria holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio University and a Masters in Educational Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum from Georgian Court University. During several summers off from the classroom, Maria has participated in extensive military, government, cultural, health and education related travel or has taken on the roll of Producer for the Monroe Township Community Theater Group, the Might Oak Players.

Bethany Widrich has been Associate Director of Arts Services for Middlesex County since December 2014. She manages the Local Arts Program for regrants, the “Gateway to the Arts” regrant program as well as projects focusing on Art & Wellness and public art. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Art History from Rutgers University, as well as an Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Seton Hall University. Prior to her employment at Middlesex County, Bethany worked in several private art galleries in Manhattan, Montclair State University’s George Segal Gallery, the Newark Museum and the Jersey City Museum. She is an advisory Board member with the Jersey City Arts Council and volunteers at the historic Loew’s Theater of Jersey City.

ARTISTS
Zakia Ahmed (Princeton Jct), Minidha Arvindakshan (Princeton Jct), Gaganpreet Bathla (West Windsor), Judith Caccavale (Dayton), Dr. Thomas A. Chiola (Trenton), Disha Dua (West Windsor), Ilene Dube (Princeton Jct), Carlo Fiorentini (Princeton), Carla Graifer (Monroe Twp), Martin Graifer (Monroe Twp), Margaret Kalvar Bushnell (Princeton Jct), Beverly Keese-Kelley (Trenton), Eleni Z. Litt (Princeton), Robert Lowe (Trenton), Aarti Mantri (Dayton), Jyoti L Menon (Lawrenceville), Suvarna Nagaraju (Belle Mead), Smita Nedunuri (Kendall Park), Arushi Patel (Plainsboro), Deborah W. Pey (Bordentown), Bill Plank (Lawrenceville), Helene Plank (Lawrenceville), Joy Sacalis (Rocky Hill), Vibha Singh (Monroe Twp), Rupali Swain (Princeton Jct), Sarasvathy TK (Princeton), Saima Yousuf (Hamilton Twp), Jennifer Yuan (Princeton)