County Partners with Art Educators of New Jersey for 15th Consecutive Year to Highlight the Creative Talents of Essex County’s Students

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and the Art Educators of New Jersey welcomed 103 students from throughout Essex County to the Hall of Records for the Art Educators of New Jersey student art exhibit on Thurs. March 21st. This is the 15th consecutive year DiVincenzo has partnered with the Art Educators of New Jersey to present the student artists exhibit at the Hall of Records.

During the month of March, the first-floor lobby of the Hall of Records was transformed into a student art gallery. Employees and visitors to the county building were treated to the colorful and lifelike portraits, paintings and drawings.

“Essex County has some very creative and talented student artists at all age levels from elementary to high school. The original artwork that is included in our exhibit is truly inspiring,” DiVincenzo said. “I am proud to have been a partner with the Art Educators of New Jersey to present this exhibit. This is an opportunity to promote our students’ positive achievements and enables the general public to see the talent in our schools,” he added.

“This is a wonderful observance to emphasize the value of art education for children of all ages and encourage support for art programs in our public schools,” said Catherine Kondreck, Chairwoman of the 2019 New Jersey Art Educators of New Jersey Essex County Exhibit. “These students have worked very hard and it is wonderful to have them receive this recognition. Kudos to them and our county leaders for continuing to put Essex County and our children first! We especially want to thank the County Executive for giving us the opportunity to share the talents of our students with the public,” she noted.

This year’s show featured original works of art created by 103 students who ranged in age from elementary school to high school level. The students came from 15 different Essex County schools including Caldwell, Short Hills, West Orange, and Livingston. The students whose drawings and paintings that were featured in the exhibit are as follows:

Glenwood Elementary School in Short Hills: Benjamin Zatz, Cailyn Mulvaney, Jacob Mathew, Noa Waxman, Sharanya Bhattacharya and Timothy Hansen.

Jefferson Elementary School in Maplewood: Benjamin Spilberg, Cassia Luhrman, Gillian Crawford, Jake Whitehead, Joseph Kerner and Vogel Benoit Brutus.

Liberty Middle School in West Orange: Daniel Garber and Nyla La Mar.

Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston: Benjamin Huppert, Jacob Elstein, Maya Margolis and Nava Chfitz.

Roosevelt Middle School in West Orange: Emely Rodriguez and Rocio Ramirez.

Trinity Academy in Caldwell: Bridget Castano, Carmen Haughton, Elizabeth Blenden, Katie King, Robert Bajkowski and Zoe Hunter.

West Essex Regional Middle School in North Caldwell: Jonah Ng, Marcus Wojcik, Natalynn Mariotti, Samantha DellaTerza, Sarah Data, Trey Wakeshima and Valerie Quinones.  

The Student Art Exhibit is part of the County Executive’s initiative to recognize the accomplishments of Essex County students. The Executive also has hosted recognition ceremonies for the top high school basketball, track and field and softball teams. High-achieving students from the Essex County Vocational-Technical School System are also recognized during the Executive’s Teamwork Award Program.