Enjoy the Awards Ceremony & Art Exhibit by Union County Employees, May 6

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The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will recognize local artists and present awards at a reception on Tuesday, May 6, at the 13th Annual Exhibit and Contest for County of Union Employees and their families. The free reception and awards ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located in the Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union.

"This show offers a chance for our Union County employees and family members to shine,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board. “The artwork that they do in their spare time is outstanding, and we are proud to display it in the beautiful atrium space of the Liberty Hall Center. We are grateful to Elizabethtown Gas for generously hosting the program and awards reception and to the National Arts Program Foundation for funding the prize awards.”

Presented in partnership with the National Arts Program®, the exhibit will be open weekdays until May 27, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The Freeholders share the goal of the National Arts Program Foundation to reach as many people as possible of all ages, offering them a chance to show their creations,” said Freeholder Chairman Christopher Hudak. “We invite you to view this exhibit of exceptional artwork at the Liberty Hall Center.”

The art exhibit will be judged by three prominent artists and/or arts administrators: Larry Cappiello, Darlene Foster and Valerie Moreno.

Lawrence Cappiello is a founder of Arts Guild New Jersey (formerly the Arts Guild of Rahway), a non-profit center for the arts in Rahway, and he has served as Executive Director of the organization since 1998. Mr. Cappiello studied Art at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He holds an MA degree in Studio Art and Art Education from Kean University and has other formal training at The Art Students League in New York City and various institutions in New Jersey and New York.

Darlene Foster studied drawing and painting at the Sarah Brown School of Art in Atlanta and participated in shows and exhibits. She moved to Plainfield in 1977 and began incorporating photography into her artwork. This led to a 17-year employment as a retouching artist with The Image Maker Photography Studio in Berkeley Heights and freelance clients. Ms Foster currently works doing photographic painting, retouching, restoration and collage for photographers and the general public as well as her personal artwork.

Valerie Moreno is a painter who earned her B.A. from the College of New Rochelle, with graduate studies in Fine Arts at Brooklyn College and Montclair State University. Her one-person exhibits include: J&J World Headquarters, New Brunswick; ETS, Princeton; The Library of the Chathams; New Providence Public Library; the Summit Medical Group, Berkeley Heights; and the Bernardsville Library. Her work is included in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.

The National Arts Program® is in its 31st year and runs 82 annual programs reaching 450 cities in 38 states. The program was conceived by Leonard E.B. Andrews (1925 - 2009), an art collector, publisher, business executive and journalist, “for the encouragement and development of artistic expression.” The goal of the National Arts Program® is to provide an uninhibited opportunity for people to present their talent, at whatever level, in a free, public exhibition. The National Arts Program® is sponsored by The National Arts Program Foundation of Malvern, Pennsylvania. To learn more about the program, visit www.thenationalartsprogram.org .

Additional support for this event is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth NJ 07202. Telephone (908) 558-2550 or e-mail:culturalinfo@ucnj.org. NJ relay users dial 711.