Michael Mazzeo, who initiated the discussions that led to the creation of the Red Bank Visual Arts Committee, inside his gallery, Galerie Lucida.   (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

The Borough of Red Bank has advisory committees for Parks and Recreation, Community Engagement and Equity, Shade Trees, and commissions for historic Preservation and Environmental matters.

But what about art?

That was the question gallery owner Michael Mazzeo had when he approached Mayor Billy Portman earlier this year.

Since opening Galerie Lucida on Wallace Street in 2023, Mazzeo said, “I’ve since found out that there are an enormous amount of artists here.” He wanted a better way to connect them and multiply their efforts to bring more art to the town. 

And so, behold a new creation:  The Red Bank Visual Arts Committee.

A mural recently completed on the side of Canopy Crossroad by artist Michael White, who is a member of the newly formed Red Bankk Visual Arts Committee. (photo by Brian Donohue)

An ordinance passed by the mayor and borough council last month creates a new committee to “facilitate the development of public visual arts ” and  “ensure that public art contributions to the Borough will complement the building(s) or neighborhood(s) with which they are associated, as well as complement current strategies for economic development and tourism, and enhance neighborhood and community identity.”

“I’d like to bring more art into the community,” Mazzeo said, speaking before the ordinance’s introduction.

“As you know when you build up the art community, tourism follows, business follows and I think things get better all around,” said Mazzeo who will hold one of six resident seats on the committee.  “There’s a lot of excitement.”

By ordinance, the eight-member committee also includes the Borough Manager and a member of the Borough Council.

Borough Manager Jim Gant and Deputy Mayor and Council Member Kate Triggiano fill those last two spots. The members of the public appointed to the committee include: Mazzeo,  Ellen Martin, Victoria Steel, Jane Kleiman, Michael White, and Sandy Riddle.  Donna Rubin will serve as an alternate while a second alternate position remains open. 

“This is really exciting for me, I don’t always get to wear this hat,” said Triggiano who got her bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She also noted a bit of serendipity: as a student, Triggiano actually studied under Mazzeo at Parsons School of Design in New York.

“I’m excited to see this really grow into something great,” she said.  “Red Bank really is an arts center and I think through active collaboration with the arts leaders in our community that’s going to come to the surface more.”

Triggiano said the ordinance and committee was modeled after a similar one in Asbury Park, which has found success in creating murals and other works of public art throughout that town. 

According to the ordinance, the committee will have the power to

• commission and oversee the creation of public visual art work
• hear and review applications for the creation of public visual art within the Borough, including the erection, painting and/or installation of murals or streetscapes, and to recommend projects and/or decisions to the Borough Council regarding same.
•  advise the Borough Council, the Planning Board, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and other agencies of the Borough as to matters affecting the creation of public visual art within the Borough, including the erection, painting and/or installation of murals or streetscapes.
• create a non-exclusive list of spaces that are eligible and appropriate for the potential location and siting of murals or streetscapes within the Borough.
•   develop, and to regularly review and update, a public visual arts plan and public art guidelines, which identify, among other things, appropriate spaces and appropriate mediums, respectively, for public visual arts within the Borough.
•   promote, participate in, and/or create public events celebrating the visual arts within the Borough of Red Bank.
• review and recommend public visual art projects.
•  make recommendations regarding any issues that may arise from a specific public artwork or art project.

The ordinance establishes a fund to accept donations from people hoping to support the arts in town.

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at  [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.