When Studio Route 29 opened in Frenchtown in 2022, the nonprofit art center’s goal was to nurture artists with development and intellectual disabilities, offering them space, materials and support to develop an artistic practice and engage with the wider arts community that has long pushed them aside.
And clearly, those dreams have come to fruition.
Studio Route 29 artists BJ Armour Jr., Theo Baransky and Michael Angelo Mangino will exhibit their works May 7 to 11 at NADA New York, a high-profile art fair dedicated to showcasing the best of contemporary art.
To help pay the $10,000 exhibition cost, Studio Route 29 is hosting a fundraiser from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 27, that will take attendees on a tour through several iconic organizations in Frenchtown. Tickets are $250 to $1,000.
Studio Route 29: ArtYard partners with new studio for artists with disabilities in Frenchtown
Visitors will start at Studio Route 29, where they will tour the facility led by Baransky before meeting co-founders Kathleen Henderson, Hop Peternell and Lydia Glenn-Murray.
They will then head to ArtYard, a 21,000-square-foot Frenchtown haven of theater, music, dance and poetry, and meet founder Jill Kearney. As partnering organizations, ArtYard paved the way for Studio Route 29’s opening, and Studio Route 29 maintains exhibition spaces at ArtYard.
“Because we’re so close to them, we will be able to go to dress rehearsals, artist talks and invite their artists-in-residency to see our performances, screenings and the work we’re doing,” Henderson told MyCentralJersey prior to Studio Route 29’s opening. “In many ways, I haven’t seen anything like it in the country — an opportunity for artists with disabilities to work so closely with and around artists without.”
Finally, visitors will continue down the Delaware Canal Towpath to FiNNBAR, also run by Kearney. They’ll enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine pairings and music, and meet co-owner and chef Cal Peternell, a cookbook author formerly of Chez Panisse, and co-owner, general manager, wine expert and artist Ethan Stuart.
BJ Armour Jr., a Studio Route 29 artist.
FiNNBAR: The former Frenchtown Inn is now open with a one-of-a-kind social mission
At the former home of the Frenchtown Inn, FiNNBAR is a produce- and seasonally-driven Italian and Mediterranean restaurant and bar that gives 70 percent of its profits to Studio Route 29.
It’s adorned with art for sale made by Studio Route 29 artists. Just like at Studio Route 29, half of the sale prices of those works go to Studio Route 29, and the other half goes to the artist.
“Often, folks with disabilities are marginalized and siloed, but progressive art studios are places where people can be celebrated for who they are as opposed to limited to the perceptions of their diagnosis,” Henderson previously told MyCentralJersey. “It’s like art utopia.”
Go: 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 27, Studio Route 29, ArtYard and FiNNBAR in Frenchtown; $250 to $1,000; purchase at bit.ly/4iAn6JR.
Jenna Intersimone.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, although she’s a lifetime Jersey girl who considers herself an expert in everything from the Jersey Shore to the Garden State’s buzzing downtowns. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: ArtYard, FiNNBAR: Fundraiser offers look at Frenchtown spots
