An Arts Festival Grows in Morristown

From the beginning, our goal was to highlight the writing and artwork of the younger members of our community. Junior correspondents covered events ranging from First Night to LARPing at Headquarters Plaza. One of them even interviewed Santa Claus atop an undisclosed tower in town. We featured artwork from local schools, the Neighborhood House and individual artists.

It wasn’t too long before Morristown Green Editor Kevin Coughlin suggested we showcase kids’ creativity further with an art show. Last spring’s series of cultural events at a former car dealership on Bank Street seemed the perfect opportunity.

Now, truth be told, we had no idea how to curate an art show. I e-mailed local art teachers, we posted articles calling for submissions, and we waited. Two weeks before the scheduled opening, it looked as though we’d be staging a show with three really prominently displayed small works of art.

But Morristown’s artists came through, and a couple of hundred pieces of art ultimately arrived from 10 schools, churches and civic groups, as well as individual kids. With a little MacGyver-esque ingenuity, we hung the exhibit one day. Kids and their families arrived the next afternoon to view the show and create a little more artwork by painting on the showroom windows. We dismantled everything on the third day.
“This was great! Would you do it again?” visitors asked. “Sure – if it lasts for more than one day. This was crazy!” became my standard reply.