Art For All

Mason Gross is bringing the arts to the local community in many ways thanks to a new initiative launched by the Dean’s Office at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester. Centered on the idea that the arts can and should be all around us, Pop-Up Arts Across Middlesex County was created so that students and faculty across the school could engage with the Rutgers campus and beyond to spread joy and bring people together through free performances, exhibits, or any other creative display in informal settings.

Events in the fall included a performance by the New Brazilian Jazz Ensemble, made up of students in the jazz studies program, at Tavern on George in downtown New Brunswick to highlight diverse Brazilian styles and their impact on modern music and Latin jazz. Dance students, accompanied by live percussionists, performed in front of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary to bring attention to the SHELTER exhibition of commissioned works about vulnerable community members impacted by the pandemic.

In the spring, music students in a conducting class led workshops at Lincoln Elementary School in New Brunswick, inviting children to conduct and sing along. Chamber music students presented concerts at Greenbriar Whittingham Active Adult Facility in Monroe Township and outside of the New Brunswick Free Public Library, and flute students (pictured above) performed a concert at The Chelsea of East Brunswick, an assisted living community.

“Resuming in-person activities is especially meaningful for Mason Gross given the extent to which the arts depend on deeply human connections to tell stories, challenge our ways of thinking, and hold a mirror up to society,” Dean Geary said in his message calling for proposals, which emphasized the importance of gathering people together after the isolation of the past two years.

Students and faculty were invited to submit proposals and were eligible for funding through a grant from the Arts Institute of Middlesex County, a division of the Middlesex County government that supports arts and cultural events.

“The arts have the capacity to bring people together, spark empathy, and share joy,” says Rebecca Cypess, associate dean for academic affairs, who helped to organize the partnership with Middlesex County. “These are the motivations behind Pop-Up Arts Across Middlesex County.”