Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Stockton is committed to supporting the creative works of students and artists in the region and beyond through a variety of educational and cultural programs.
Noyes Partners with Nonprofit to Create Disability Arts Program
The Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University created a new art outreach program to support people with disabilities thanks to a new partnership with an Atlantic County nonprofit.
The Access to Art program, which hosted more than 100 workshops at 13 different sites last fall, was funded by $40,000 from the Atlantic Center for Independent Living, Inc. (ACIL), a Galloway-based nonprofit that advocates and provides life skills training and services for people with disabilities. The program was such a success that ACIL provided another $30,000 to the Noyes last December to continue programming in 2025.
“We get money from the state every year to increase our independent living services,” said Donald Campbell, ACIL’s executive director, who’s also a 2013 graduate of Stockton. “Because we are a smaller agency, partnerships are really important because it’s hard to do everything you want to do when you are small. This partnership with Stockton is awesome. They really get it.”
Michael Cagno, the executive director of the Noyes Museum, said he has always done arts programming for individuals with disabilities, but this funding allowed him to create and formalize a new and consistent program.
“The arts are about promoting inclusion and accessibility for everybody, regardless of their background and who they are,” Cagno said. “The arts can also be a benefit for emotional and mental well-being. It can promote social skills and community engagement. It’s not just for individuals with disabilities; it’s also for the caregivers who benefit from taking part in this.”
Access to Art and the Noyes Museum partnered with organizations whose primary functions are to support those with disabilities, such as the ARC of Atlantic County and P.I.L.O.T. Services in Atco, in addition to other nonprofits that broadly support youth and families, such as Oceanside Family Success Centers I and II in Atlantic City and the Hammonton Family Success Center. Stockton’s Kramer Hall in Hammonton and the Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City also hosted events.
Origami Creations on Display in Campus Center
For the first time ever, Stockton students were joined by local fifth graders to showcase unique origami creations throughout the Campus Center’s Grand Hall on April 16.
In addition to collegiate creations, dioramas full of paper birds, trees and other creations created by students from Dr. Joyanne D. Miller Elementary School in Egg Harbor Township were on display.
One of those students, Pierce Mohr-Murphy, found himself enthralled with the art form despite almost “rage-quitting” his first model, a dragon. Since then, he has moved to creating stunning modular origami pieces that require multiple pieces of paper, patience and a lot of perseverance.
“That’s a dodecahedron, and this is a truncated hexahedron,” Mohr-Murphy said, pointing to a ball and a cube, both full of curved angles. He pointed to the cube, “This was the hardest to create, and it fell apart, so I had to put it back together before everyone started coming in here.”
Kelly Hunt and Kim Pettit, faculty members for the Egg Harbor Township elementary school’s gifted and talented program, were happy to incorporate the art form into their curriculum, saying that the fifth graders enjoyed every aspect of the learning experience.
“I've known Dr. [Norma] Boakes for a long time, and she kind of inspired us to try this with the kids, and they’ve just blossomed,” Hunt said. “Most of them are beginners, but when you look at the stuff they created, it's hard to believe they are.”
“Some of them really take off with it, and it’s exciting to watch,” Pettit said. “They really get into it, and a few of them become really advanced.”
Professor and chair of the Education program Norma Boakes teaches “The Art & Math of Origami,” where students learn about the ancient art of paper folding and explore its connection to mathematical principles, such as geometry.
Senior Art Students Freely Express Work in New Exhibit
Over the course of two semesters, Stockton Bachelor of Fine Arts students worked hard to organize an art exhibition to be displayed at the Art Gallery. At the exhibition opening on April 13, artists showed off their work and skills to an audience of peers, family, friends and potential clients.
Students worked all week leading up to the opening to put up their artwork, and with Art Gallery Exhibition Coordinator Ryann Casey for much longer to make sure they had a game plan for bringing their creative visions to life.
At the gallery opening, Laura Randall – one of the exhibiting Visual Communications students – took a moment to thank Casey and others who made this exhibition possible.
Marissa Niceler, a Studio Arts student, spoke about the relationships she built with the Visual Arts faculty over the years.
“Mariana Smith has been amazing. You really are like a mom figure in my life, and I just really appreciate that,” Niceler said.
She also thanked Professor of Art Jedediah Morfit, noting that his and other faculty’s help and guidance “continuously (inspires) me, helping me grow and improve as a person.”
“All of us in this room are connected to art,” said Smith, professor of Visual Arts. “Let’s go forth and continue to see the beauty in this world, no matter how difficult that seems to be.”
Photojournalist Christy Bowe Shares History Through Images
Photojournalist and author Christy Bowe took an audience at Stockton on Feb. 28 inside the White House through her images that focus on the human side of our nation’s past five presidents.
Ian Marshall, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, introduced Bowe and noted a picture’s power to communicate. Of Bowe’s images, he explained, “They tend to capture that key moment when an image becomes both accessible and relatable. It becomes art that helps us make meaning of the world around us.”
Alyssa Maurice, head of research for the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, moderated a conversation with Bowe, following a presentation of her photographs.
“News is history in the making, and I’ve found from my years covering the presidencies that all these folks in the Oval Office are human beings and have a lot of emotions,” said Bowe, who has 2 million images in her archives.
One of Bowe’s goals is to capture emotion. She shared an image of George W. Bush wearing his cowboy hat on the south lawn of the White House.
“He was looking out at the sunrise as the Olympic torch is being run from the Pentagon to the White House just a couple of months after 9/11, and it is being carried by family members of people who were killed on Sept. 11,” she explained.
She saw Barack Obama’s frustration with gun laws and sadness when he met with the families of the children who had been killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
“He just started crying, and everyone in the room was crying. I was crying, still shooting, but I was crying,” she recalled.
During one of President Joe Biden’s last bill signings, he handed Vice President Kamala Harris a pen.
“It was a sweet, tender moment when he said, ‘Here kid, keep this going,’ and it felt to me like he was passing the torch to her as this was before the election,” she said.
Maurice started the conversation by asking Bowe how she entered the field of photojournalism. Bowe’s earliest photos were a disappointment that inspired her to learn more about photography and led her to a career with a front-row seat to history in the making, the title of her latest book.
The 20 rolls of film from her cross-country road trip to Texas with her friends didn’t capture what she had seen. She realized her mission: “I want to have people see what I see.”
Monks’ Visit Provides Glimpse into a Different Culture
As an associate professor of Asian Philosophy, Jongbok Yi lectures his Stockton students about a completely different way of life than what most of them are used to.
In April, Yi hoped to show them firsthand by bringing a group of Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery to campus to build a sand mandala and meet with students. The week-long program, titled “Healing Through Mandala,” began with an opening ceremony on Monday, April 7 in the Campus Center Grand Hall.
“This is important because students can see the presence of a very different culture here and then hopefully can appreciate the beauty of different cultures,” Yi said. “Sociologist Max Weber said that if you only know one thing, you don’t know anything. By seeing the difference, you can clearly see who you are and what culture you have.”
After a series of chants and prayers, six monks began to design the pattern for the mandala that they constructed during the week. Red, green, yellow, blue and orange sand filled out the mandala’s pattern. According to Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, mandala symbolizes the Buddhist cosmos.
“If you think about how they build this mandala, they build it from individual grains of sand. So, if you can think of each grain of sand as us — Stockton students, faculty and staff — then this is Stockton,” Yi said. “I think this will show the importance of harmony, love and compassion to the entire Stockton community.”
The monks’ work continued until a closing ceremony on Friday, April 11 in the Campus Center, where they destroyed the sand mandala to symbolize the transitory nature of all phenomena.
Art Students’ Murals Embrace the Future of Aviation at A.C. Airport
Two seniors in Stockton’s Visual Arts program were selected out of dozens of entries to display their artwork in the Atlantic City International Airport terminal this spring.
Evan Carr, of Bloomfield, and Laura Randall, of Galloway, submitted their proposals to a mural competition that the airport hosted as part of their course “Design for Community Partners” with Professor of Art Hannah Ueno. The artwork was unveiled in a ceremony at the airport on April 25.
“We are honored to partner with these students to bring their visions into our terminal, transforming our airport into not just a place of departure and arrival, but a place of expression and connection,” said Stephen Dougherty, executive director for the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates and manages the airport.
The theme of the murals is “The Future of Aviation.”
Carr’s mural is titled “It’s All Up from Here,” and features brightly colored, familiar aviation symbols. In designing his first mural, he was intentional in making the piece feel inviting.
“Travel can be stressful sometimes,” Carr said. “It is my hope that this mural can brighten up the space and bring joy to a good deal of passengers and travelers who see it.”
Randall’s mural takes inspiration from the future generation of pilots and engineers in the aviation industry. Her piece – titled “The Aviators of Tomorrow” – features a young boy wearing a pilot’s cap as he looks out of a plane window, bursting with color and sparkles.
The process of painting the mural took the student artist around 30 hours to complete, along with help from her professor, friends and family. During the process, she was able to have meaningful moments with travelers, with some children making the same face as the boy in the mural when they came across her artwork.
“All of this has been mind-blowing,” Randall said. “Painting this took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I had a lot of help, and it was really cool seeing it all build piece by piece and come together at the end.”
Summit Preps Arts Groups to Commemorate America at 250
Stockton got a head start on the preparations for the United States’ 250th anniversary when it hosted its Second Annual Arts and Culture Summit on April 4.
More than 140 people from about 40 different New Jersey organizations, artists, students and educators arrived at the University’s Atlantic City campus for the day-long event that featured breakout sessions on funding support for art and artists; art, culture and citizenship; art and our natural resources; technology and artistic expression; and art and community engagement. The 250th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia is on July 4, 2026.
“There is no other event of its kind anywhere in this region, or as far as I’m aware, anywhere in New Jersey,” said Ian Marshall, the dean of Stockton’s School of Arts and Humanities. “Where else can students, artists and enthusiasts go specifically to hone their craft, learn about how to sustain what they do, and be in dialogue with one another?”
Stockton President Joe Bertolino started the summit the year before as part of the celebration of his inauguration and to recognize the University’s role as an Anchor Institution in both Atlantic City and Atlantic County. He’s excited to make the summit an annual University tradition.
“We take seriously our role in creating a space for dialogue, reflection and growth,” he said. “This summit is one of the many ways we bring people together across sectors to imagine what’s possible when creativity and community meet.”
First-Ever Drum Circle is a Big Hit on Campus
After a misty and overcast morning, the clouds parted and allowed the sun to shine on the D/F Plaza for an evening of music and camaraderie during Sankofa’s first-ever Drum Circle on Sept. 24, 2024.
Jayden Hamlet, a member of Sankofa — an initiative that mentors Stockton men of color — got in contact with esteemed drummer Baba Paul with the help of his mentor in the program, assistant professor of Africana Studies Kimoni Yaw Ajani. They then invited him to teach over 30 students the significance and utility of the various instruments he brought to campus, including several types of drums, bells, hoe blades and shekeres, which are gourd-like instruments covered in beads.
After introducing each instrument, Baba Paul established different rhythms for the participants to follow, starting with the big drums and concluding with the smallest of the bells and shekeres.
By the time the drum circle concluded, the sounds of the plaza outside of the Multicultural Center had shifted from the uncoordinated beats of a rhythmically challenged group to a unified song that brought laughter and joy to the group.
Hamlet, a senior Environmental Science major, said his recent study abroad experience in Ghana inspired this event. He had always been interested in music, specifically percussion, which he didn’t pursue, but he was told while abroad that he was a “natural.”
“I wanted the experience I had in Ghana to be an experience for Stockton as well,” Hamlet said while he welcomed students to the circle. “If you don’t know what Sankofa means, it means to bring something back, and this is a part of the culture that I wanted to bring back.”
Ian Bouie, director of Academic Achievement Programs, says initiatives like Sankofa are designed to enable and empower students to make an impact on Stockton’s campus through programs like this that focus on allowing students to feel pride in their culture and heritage.
Stockton Community Gives Back to Local Community
By 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, nearly 900 volunteers – which included Stockton students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as local community members – hit the ground running to join the various service projects hosted in memory of the late civil and social rights champion the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The service projects, ranging from craft projects that will line the halls of local schools, hospitals and senior living communities to packaging hygiene and wellness kits for local rescue missions, were available on the Galloway, Atlantic City, and Hammonton campuses.
“We have a big array of our campus clubs and organizations participating and hosting these projects,” said Taylor Coyne, coordinator of Service Learning. “Whether it be benefitting or assisting senior living facilities, local hospitals, animal shelters or other organizations, this is a great effort from our Stockton community and surrounding communities.”
The annual day of service, which celebrates 21 years on campus, is a beloved staple and tradition for the Stockton community, as evidenced by the continued support of the student organization Stockton Circle K.
Every year, they host a variety of projects, including making blankets, friendship bracelets, clay hearts and stuffed animals that will be donated to local nonprofit organizations. Their continued dedication to community service and engagement was what earned the organization this year’s Community Engagement Award.
When asked how carrying on such a long-standing tradition felt, the then-president of Stockton Circle K, Mariann Delgado of Linden, beamed.
“It’s a really great feeling,” the Health Sciences major said. “The past presidents have been here to guide me, and just to know that I’m making them proud while helping the community at the same time is a really great feeling."
Prior to the morning of projects, participants enjoyed a hot breakfast while honoring Stockton students who went above and beyond to serve their community during the second annual Community Engagement Awards.
“Today is about living our values — engaging with our community, taking responsibility and honoring the powerful legacy of Dr. King,” Stockton President Joe Bertolino said in his remarks. “Let’s carry Dr. King’s inspiration forward, not just today but every day, and leave this world a little brighter than we found it.”
“This event is the capstone of everything that we do at Stockton to support the mission of the University – this is our way to give back and to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and how we can continue to pay tribute to it in not only words but in action throughout the entire year. It sets the agenda for the entire year,” Merydawilda Colón, then-director for the former Stockton Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, said.
