The 25th Annual Jersey City Artists Studio Tour, featuring 800 artists at galleries, private studios, murals, group shows and pop up exhibition sites, will take place from noon to 6 p.m. throughout the city on Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4.
Presented by Mayor Steven M. Fulop, the City Council, and the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs, the tour will launch with a kick-off party at this year’s flagship location at the Lackawanna Center at 234 16th Street (16th & Erie) at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2.
This year the tour will include 230 locations throughout the entire city. (http://thejcast.com/jcast-2015-stops).
The art tour this year will also serve as a catalyst for what local officials are calling “Art Month in Jersey City” as the Office of Cultural Affairs will highlight art in each neighborhood of the city throughout the month of October.
“The Art & Studio Tour weekend is one of the most exciting of the year as we get to showcase the vibrant cultural landscape of Jersey City,” said Mayor Fulop. “From the Heights, to Greenville, to Downtown, to the West Side, to Bergen Lafayette and Journal Square, Jersey City’s art scene continues to expand and diversify and this is great opportunity to support local artists and engage with your neighbors.”
One of this year’s highlights is the flagship community exhibition at the Lackawanna Center, featuring more than 200 artists in 60,000 square feet of warehouse space. There is ample on-site parking in the parking lot at 16th & Grove and immediately across the street in the basketball court.
The JCAST creates opportunities for artists of all disciplines to showcase their work as a community and provides Jersey City residents and visitors alike the chance to immerse themselves in the arts that include film, dance, performance, visual arts, installations, public art, music, and more. Film will be hosted at the Flagship Gallery by Jersey City International Television & Film Festival.
Detailed artists information can be found online at: thejcast.com, and on tour weekend, tour goers can download the JCAST mobile app available to geolocate stops on the tour route.
Additionally, free shuttle buses will be running three routes throughout the city from noon to 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. In partnership with BikeJC, tour goers can experience a guided bike tour on Saturday throughout the day, and a barrier-free tour on Saturday with two routes leaving from City Hall, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. with ADA accessible vans. And this year, with Citi Bike locations throughout the city at 35 docking stations, anyone wishing to cycle between tour stops can easily do so. More information on tour transportation is available at http://thejcast.com/category/transportation/.
Sponsors for the event include the Emmes Lackawanna Center, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, 150 Bay Street/Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Prime Real Estate Group, Silverman, and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation.
For more information, please visit thejcast.com.
New midtown ferry starts
A new ferry service now connects New York Waterway’s Middletown docks with New York City financial district and midtown Manhattan will stop at the Paulus Hook ferry site. The Molly Pitcher, constructed in Cape May, carries about 400 passengers and provides a number of amenities, including morning coffee and afternoon cocktails.
Main library to close for five weeks
In the continuation of the $15 million renovation to the Main Library of the Jersey City Free Public Library, this historic building will be closed for five weeks, beginning Monday, Sept. 28, for the installation of new terrazzo tiles and the restoration of existing ones.
The Main Library, 472 Jersey Ave., Jersey City, will be closed from Monday, Sept. 28, through Saturday, Oct. 31. The Bookmobile will be stationed in front of the Main Library on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (Blue Route / http://www.jclibrary.org/images/bookmobile/fallwinter2015.pdf), and on Tuesdays and Fridays (Red Route / http://www.jclibrary.org/images/bookmobile/fallwinterred2015.pdf) in the afternoon for both routes. The Main Library will reopen to the public on Monday, Nov. 2.
“We appreciate our patrons’ patience as we continue to restore the library and perform this necessary work,” said Library Director Priscilla Gardner. “A significant part of the Main Library’s grand beauty has been its Terrazzo floors, which are receiving the proper care they deserve in this restoration.”
Phases 1 and 2, constructing barrier-free restrooms and the first and fourth floors and providing the foundation for creation of the Handi-Lift and the new elevator shaft, are in various stages of completion. The Lending Department has received a major overhaul, as well. All of these areas will continually receive attention for full completion, while Phase 3 begins to be implemented.