Great artistic collaborations – from Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris to Sweet Honey in the Rock and Alvin Ailey – can’t happen if the people who make great art don’t know one another.
While many agree that Hudson County is rich with dancers, choreographers, actors, directors, visual artist, musicians, and others, too often these individuals are scattered, segregated, and rarely network.
In an effort to change that, the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and Tourism last week held another of its periodic salons for artists in an effort to facilitate networking opportunities among artists in the county and to, hopefully, stimulate collaborative projects among them.
The event took place at Jersey City’s Barrow Mansion, home to Nimbus Dance Works and the Jersey City Children’s Theater.
“If you look around here tonight, there are artists and arts organizations that are at different stages in their development,” said Bill LaRosa, director of Office of Cultural Affairs and Tourism. “Our hope is that, yes, some of these people will begin to collaborate in their work. But also we hope to see more experienced artists and organizations begin to mentor some of the younger or newer ones so that they are able to develop and grow.”
About 45 professional artists attended the cultural soiree.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.