Center for the Arts

Gallery Exhibitions

I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All: 20 Years of Sheryl Oring’s I Wish to Say

With backgrounds in journalism and fine art, Sheryl Oring began her ongoing project I Wish to Say in 2004 from a concern that many people’s voices were not being heard. She started to take dictation from the public about what they wanted to say to the (next) President. Dressed as a 1960s secretary with a typewriter, she records whatever participants say onto a postcard, making copies with carbon paper. During larger events, a secretarial bank takes dictation. Oring mails the postcards to the White House and exhibits copies. To date she has mailed over 4100 postcards.

Gallery Exhibitions

Michael Anthony Donato: Angels & Devils

Michael Anthony Donato, a School of Visual Arts graduate, is an award-winning children’s book illustrator. His work on Squanto and the First Thanksgiving aired on Showtime and earned honors from the American Library Association. His illustrations for Tales Alive, a collection of global folktales, received a Parents’ Choice Award. Donato also collaborated with Simon & Schuster and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Voyage Up the Nile. He currently teaches drawing and advanced painting at Monmouth University.

Artist Reception: October 18, 5-7 PM

Gallery Exhibitions

Mike Richison’s Election Collection: 2004-2024

Mike Richison’s Election Collection: 2004-2020 showcases 20 years of design and video art inspired by the presidential election cycle. Richison began working with this topic in 2004 when he created a short video loop of George W. Bush drinking water during the debates. This evolved into performances and interactive video projects that break down language into musical and abstract elements.

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 19, 2024, from 5:30-7:30pm

Grammy Museum Affiliation

Tuesday Night Record Club

Bruce Springsteen, The Ghost of Tom Joad

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature The Ghost of Tom Joad.

Visiting Writers

John Vercher

John’s debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune. In the U.K., Three-Fifths was named a Book of the Year by The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, and The Guardian. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, was published by Soho Press. It’s been called “simply brilliant” by Publishers Weekly in a starred review, “shrewd and explosive” by The New York Times, and was named an Editors’ Choice in Adult Fiction for 2022 by Booklist. His third novel, Devil Is Fine has received starred reviews from Booklist and BookPage, was named a Best New Book of the Summer by TIME Magazine and The Root, an Indie Next pick for July, and one of the Top Ten Books to Add to Your Reading List in June by the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, Devil is Fine was a June book pick by The Center for Fiction, one of the 12 Must-Read Books of June by The Chicago Review of Books, a Book of the Day for July by NPR, and was featured on NPR’s It’s Been A Minute.

Adult Education Series

Podcasting for Beginners

In this two-session virtual course taught by Robert Rodriguez, students will learn how to produce a podcast from the planning stage to the final upload. The two sessions will focus on developing a concept, basic recording technology, post-production and launching onto Apple & Spotify. No previous podcasting experience is required.

Class Schedule: Thursdays - November 7 & 14 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Performing Arts Series

The Mind and Music of Leonard Bernstein with Dr. Richard Kogan

Leonard Bernstein, renowned for his dynamic conducting and compositions like “West Side Story,” remains a towering figure in 20th-century music. Explore the fascinating intersection of Bernstein’s genius and the mind with Dr. Richard Kogan in a TED-like lecture and piano performance. Trained at Juilliard in piano and Harvard Medical School in psychiatry, Dr. Kogan, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Artistic Director of the Music and Medicine program at Weill Cornell Medical Center, offers a unique perspective.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Louise Erdrich, The Night Watchman

Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack. This month’s novel is Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman. Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C., this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.

Adult Education Series

Podcasting for Beginners

In this two-session virtual course taught by Robert Rodriguez, students will learn how to produce a podcast from the planning stage to the final upload. The two sessions will focus on developing a concept, basic recording technology, post-production and launching onto Apple & Spotify. No previous podcasting experience is required.

Class Schedule: Thursdays - November 7 & 14 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Bus Trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art

World Cinema Series

Court

A sewerage worker’s dead body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai. An ageing folk singer is tried in court on charges of abetment of suicide. He is accused of performing an inflammatory song which might have incited the worker to commit the act. As the trial unfolds, the personal lives of the lawyers and the judge involved in the case are observed outside the court.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Tosca

Extraordinary soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the volatile diva Floria Tosca for her first time at the Met. David McVicar’s thrilling production also features tenor Freddie De Tommaso in his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse baritone Quinn Kelsey as the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Performing Arts Series

The Wailin’ Jennys

Join us for a night of unforgettable folk music as The Wailin’ Jennys grace the stage at Pollak Theatre. From their humble beginnings in a tiny guitar shop to becoming one of today’s most beloved international folk acts, The Wailin’ Jennys have captured hearts around the world. Founding members Moody, Mehta, and Masse continue to impress with each critically acclaimed recording, elevating their music to new heights while thrilling audiences with their renowned live performances.

ArtNOW: Performance, Art, and Technology

Gallery Exhibitions

I Wish to Say Teach-In Series

This fall the DiMattio Gallery is hosting I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All, an exhibition of Sheryl Oring’s social practice project I Wish to Say and related works (https://www.monmouth.edu/mca/event/i-wish-that-i-had-spoken-only-of-it-all/). Part of our programming will be a teach-in series from MU faculty about topics related to themes that intersect with Oring’s project as art reaches across disciplinary bounds. These teach-ins will be free and open to the public.

ArtNOW: Performance, Art, and Technology

Gallery Exhibitions

I Wish to Say Teach-In Series

This fall the DiMattio Gallery is hosting I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All, an exhibition of Sheryl Oring’s social practice project I Wish to Say and related works (https://www.monmouth.edu/mca/event/i-wish-that-i-had-spoken-only-of-it-all/). Part of our programming will be a teach-in series from MU faculty about topics related to themes that intersect with Oring’s project as art reaches across disciplinary bounds. These teach-ins will be free and open to the public.

Adult Education Series

Words & Music

Brute Force

Monmouth University alumnus Stephen Friedland, known as Brute Force will perform a concert and participate in a Q & A with professor Ken Womack.

Great Art on Screen

Perugino: Eternal Renaissance

Perugino: Eternal Renaissance is a journey to discover Perugino, one of the most revered artists of the 15th Century and to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of his death. Journey through Italy to discover his great masterpieces, from the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel to the two rooms entirely dedicated to him in the National Gallery of Umbria. Spectators will be led on a guided discovery of the artist’s harmonious work: a perfect balance between man and nature, realism and idealism, as seen in paintings such as “The Delivery of the Keys” in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, “Lamentation over the Dead Christ” in the Galleria Palatina in Florence, the “Pietà” and “Agony in the Garden” in the Uffizi Gallery.

Grammy Museum Affiliation

Tuesday Night Record Club

Queen, A Night at the Opera

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Queen, A Night at the Opera.

Adult Education Series

Bring in Da Funk, Part II

Parliament/Funkadelic’s George Clinton declared “we want the funk,” and by the mid-70s the genre was in full swing. On the R&B and pop charts as well as on the dance floor, funk had officially taken over. This two-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole covers the peak of the genre, its eventual decline in popularity, and its continuing influence. Artists examined include the Ohio Players, Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Commodores, Cameo, Slave, Zapp and Roger, and many more. In addition, subgenres including go go, punk funk (coined by Rick James), funk rock, and Bay Area funk will be covered. The course includes multimedia presentations and class discussions.

Class Schedule: Thursdays - December 5 & 12 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Performing Arts Series

Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea

Embrace the joy and warmth of the season at the annual holiday concert with Father Alphonse Stevenson and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea! This cherished tradition brings a 42-piece orchestra and exceptional soloists to Pollak Theatre with beloved carols and festive melodies. Be part of this heartwarming celebration and let the spirit of the season come alive through the power of music.