March Madness at the Art Alliance of Monmouth County

The Art Alliance of Monmouth County drew almost 100 people to its monthly First Saturday opening and award gala this past weekend.

There were 140 works of art submitted for this month’s show, with 70 selected for display. Michael Scherfen won the $100 Jean Townsend award and Joseph Cuciniello and Lou Jeanne Cujo each received a $50 Art Alliance Award.

Sangita Phadke, a pastel artist who is this month’s featured window artist, juried the submissions.

Phadke is an award winning pastel artist who has been creating art since 2007. Her work will be displayed this year in the U.S. Embassy in Yemen and in 2010 her art was displayed as part of a government sponsored exhibition in Taiwan. Each month’s featured artist at the Art Alliance juries the submissions for that month. There are two non-juried shows a year.

The Jean Townsend award was created in memory of Jean Townsend, one of the founders of the Art Alliance who sought to create a place where local artists working in all mediums could join. 

Townsend believed that art is a critical part of any community’s life and that people need places to gather and work together. Townsend believed that skilled artists could learn from novices as much as novices could learn from skilled artists. The ability to be creative and become empowered through the act of creation is an ethos that runs throughout the Art Alliance’s 30-year history as an inclusive community where artists can create.

The Art Alliance does not screen prospective members work and runs as an all-volunteer, cooperative arrangement. Any artist can join for just $30 a year and membership allows access to classes at the Art Alliance’s studio at 33 Monmouth Street. Some artists choose to sustain the Art Alliance with a $100 gold membership.  The Board and monthly gallery openings are completely volunteer run.

The Art Alliance’s Gallery is open 12pm - 4pm, Tuesday through Friday at 33 Monmouth Street in Red Bank.