The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) invites senior citizens, ages 55 plus, who live, work, shop, volunteer, enjoy, or have a connection to Englewood, New Jersey to register for Build a Village, free public art-making workshops to create public murals in the city. The workshops take place on Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 3, 10, 24, and 31. The last workshop occurs on November 7. All the workshops take place at Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living (SESCIL), located a 228 Grand Avenue in Englewood, New Jersey. No art experience is needed.
Northern NJ Community Foundation launches Build a Village public art-making series for senior citizens in Englewood, New Jersey. Photo Credit: Messy Nessy Chic
Senior Citizens: Register Today
Professional teaching artist/muralist Dan Fenelon leads the workshops, bringing together participants to explore creating an ideal community through art. Senior citizens use their imagination and connect with others via the arts. Through the series, they also make new friends. The project is also being implemented simultaneously at a second site in Englewood for Bergen Family Center’s clients.
Advanced registration is required. Senior citizens may register by calling 201-568-5608 or contacting artsbergen@nnjcf.org.
In the spring, the completed murals will be showcased in shadowbox windows next to the Bergen Performing Arts Center leading to ShopRite in Englewood, New Jersey. Afterward, they will be displayed in storefronts in the central shopping district.
“Building social connections is important at any age, but can be even more vital for seniors. Build a Village allows seniors to co-create together to produce murals that will be publicly showcased in Englewood, New Jersey. This pilot program can be replicated in other municipalities in Bergen County, ” said Danielle De Laurentis, Associate Director, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.
Support Build a Village
Individuals and businesses are welcome to support this pilot project and its replication with a tax-deductible donation, as permitted by law. Make donations online under the tab, The Creative Placemaking Fund. Also, send a contribution by check made out to ‘The Northern N.J. Community Foundation’ with ‘Build a Village’ entered in the memo line. Then, send checks to the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, 1 University Plaza, Suite 128, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601. To date, partial funding for the project is provided by Age-Friendly Englewood.
Creative Placemaking
During its 20th anniversary year, the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation continues to serve the community and asks, What can we do together that we can’t do alone?. The NNJCF is a leader in creative placemaking, the practice of integrating arts and culture into the fabric of a region, town, or city block in the region. Build a Village is the NNJCF’s ArtsBergen initiative’s latest creative placemaking project to be implemented in Bergen County.
NNJCF’s ArtsBergen has also worked extensively with the Hackensack Creative Arts Team (CAT). This is a group of local stakeholders to develop a creative placemaking vision plan for the city. The projects and installations include the Main Gateway Mural, a 140 foot mural beautifying a burnt down building in the downtown. Another project “Art on a Stick: Raccoons”, a series of anthropomorphic raccoons, bring the ordinary to life. The Foundation also managed a call for artists for the “Utility ARTBox Project”, a street art project promoting anti-littering messages via art on utility boxes along Main Street and beyond.
For further information about the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, contact nnjcf@nnjcf.org or call 201-568-5608.
