Trenton’s First Friday — an evening of viewing art at galleries open late and having light refreshments, held on the first Friday of each month — are back and becoming a growing thing in the capital city.
T.C. Nelson, owner of the Trenton Social restaurant on Broad Street, saw no reason why the Philadelphia model would not work here in some form — even after a series of First Fridays on Warren Street had stalled.
But undeterred by that and the lack of commercial art galleries, Nelson started having art openings of the first Friday of each month in the restaurant in 2011.
Now Trenton First Fridays features five venues and hopefully more on the way.
Joining the pioneering Trenton Social are the Mill Hill Saloon, Passage Theater, Artworks, and the Trenton Public Library.
Nelson says he is glad more are joining and sees the event becoming more and more popular.
“We are getting people off the sofas and enjoying a new art exhibition every month. We are a destination,” Nelson says.
Although the art at Trenton Social re-energizes the space each month, Nelson says, “I like the bittersweet experience of seeing the existing artwork come down, but the exhilarating feeling of seeing the new work installed each month.”
Curating the Trenton Social space is a Trenton native working under the pseudonym Brass Rabbit whose vision is to create opportunities for both seasoned and emerging artists.
As with all curators active in First Fridays, she is an artist. She uses documentary photography to showcase and discuss economic inequalities in current society.
Brass Rabbit began curating the Trenton Social a year ago. An independent curator, she also coordinates art events at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton and at the Arts Council of Princeton.
At Trenton Social she appreciates the idea of getting people out to meet, greet, and see new art.
“It is not stuffy or a white box like some galleries. We can do things like a recent exhibition of printed poetry on the walls adorned by 500 colorfully folded paper airplanes,” says Brass Rabbit.
The April show features a 100 percent plant based exhibit. She calls it “a group show where all the work has a plant based component” and “encompasses many different artistic styles and media.
“I think of themes all the time and try to fit them on the calendar where they will work the best. I like bright colors for winter, and group shows with open calls. A solo artist can bring a good following, but for an emerging artist sometimes group shows work out better. All structures/dwellings and celebrating LGBTQ are theme shows I see on the horizon for the Trenton Social.”
Brass rabbit also sees “this space as an incubator where new artists can learn the basics of putting on a show.” That includes “learning the logistics of showing their work” and “preparing the work, time management, writing their bio and statement, and so on.”
She adds, “We also sell a lot of work here at Trenton Social. People come to collect art. That is our ultimate goal, having artwork collected.”
Down the block from the Trenton Social on Broad Street is the Mill Hill Saloon. The longtime music venue saw art openings as a natural extension and joined the First Friday efforts around 2018.
Curator Buck Malvo, a Trenton resident, estimates that he has shown the art work of more than 100 artists in the past four years.
Malvo says, “We provide the whole experience, visual, audio, and social. We incorporate live music, food, drinks, and fellowship. We are a showcase for the area artistic community, and they value us.
“The talent in this area has unlimited potential. We have all genres: painting, sculpture, realist, graffiti, cartoons.
“Pound for pound, I feel we have some of the best art in the state. We can compete with anybody. This venue has grown organically and has the ability to experiment. The community supports it.
“During the openings it’s great, and during the day, during lunches, I see the ‘non-art’ crowd looking intently and the work and collecting it,” says Malvo, a photographer who will show his own work at Trenton’s Starbucks later this year.
In this April’s First Friday at Mill Hill Saloon, in addition to DJ Lord Stinkeye spinning vinyl records, artists Raven George, Phil McConnell, and Jane Zamost will be exhibiting. Malvo also likes to show works by the Trenton A-Team, local artists with a connection to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
“It’s all social media and word of mouth. I love to curate. I love the community here. I feel if we do good things artistically it will spread, it feels good to help and see people succeed.”
Malvo adds, “We give a whole new life to the place with the art hanging in Mill Hill. The community is able to express creativity and see it take hold. For the future, I would like to show art from the area’s youth and also create an online gallery for the art that we showcase here at the Mill Hill.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan “Lank” Conner, along with Trenton photographer Habiyb Shu’Aib, is co-curating and coordinating the Friday openings at Passage Theater and Artworks.
An artist and art educator, Conner lives in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, works for Monmouth University, and teaches drawing, two dimensional design, and digital media at Mercer County Community College. He is also the public projects manager at Artworks Trenton.
Conner says Artworks is adding the First Friday showings to its usual Saturday night openings to help people unable to attend on Saturdays.
Looking towards the future, he says, “As we promote and have successes, more people, artists and venues will get involved. With warm weather and easy walking distance, I see attendance increasing.”
The April Passage Theater exhibit is “Trenton Committee for Unity.” It features work that deals with Trenton’s rich history of Civil Rights activism, issues in modern American education, and the power of community organization. The opening will include an artists’ roundtable discussion on the night of the opening.
The show coincides with the Passage stage production, “Janet Wide Awake: The Hedgepeth-Williams Dream.”
The play set in the 1940s tells the story of when Gladys Hedgepeth and Berline Williams challenged the Trenton school formerly known as Junior High No. 2 and its policy of segregation after their children were not admitted due to their race. A critical Supreme Court decision was made due to this challenge.
“This is great having art, theater, and music. This city is really small, and a First Friday event can help tie it all together. I can see a bike tour of the venues in the future also,” says Conner.
Artworks Trenton will be showing the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship Exhibition, showcasing 38 state recipients of the 2019-2021 visual arts fellowship awards.
Then there’s the newcomer. The Trenton Free Public Library is showing off the new mural for its Young Adult Room by Trenton artists Leon Rainbow and Lori Johansson.
Speaking about Trenton’s First Friday phenomenon and future, Conner says, “We would like to see more venues join in. I think 15 to 20 would be a good doable number.”
For more on the First Friday venues, times, and exhibition hours, visit www.trentonsocial.net, www.facebook.com/millhillsaloon, www.passagetheatre.org, artworkstrenton.org, and www.trentonlib.org.
Crowds gather at the Trenton Social for monthly First Friday events.,
“Trenton Committee for Unity” is on view in April at Passage Theater.,
