Montclair Art: From Frames to Fine Art, Dance Icons, Tiny Galleries and Colbert's Next Act

Big news Montclair. You can now watch the Montclair pod on YouTube. That's right. Same local drama, same hot takes. Same school budget stress, but now with faces. Starting with today's episode, we're officially on YouTube. If you ever thought, I wish I could watch this whole thing while folding laundry or doom scrolling,

This is for you. Go to youtube dot com slash at the Montclair Pod or search the Montclair Pod on YouTube. Subscribe, watch, judge our expressions, and as always, still local, still independent, still very Montclair. This episode of the Montclair Pod is brought to you by Montclair Film, our town's hub for film, storytelling, and community connection. From thought-provoking indie screenings and QA's with acclaimed filmmakers to improv nights, live performances, and classes in filmmaking.

screenwriting, and much more, Montclair Film offers something for everyone who loves the power of a story. It's also home to one of the country's premier film festivals each fall, drawing audiences and talent from around the world right here to Montclair. Want to see what's playing or sign up for a class? Visit Montclairfilm.org for the full calendar of events and ways to get involved. Now on with the show.

music and the movement and the sweat and all of the things that went into dancing made me feel good. It made me feel like I couldn't do anything that was required.

Welcome back to the Montclair Pod. I'm Farnoosh. I'm Mike. And uh I'm I'm Alex. I'm here for some reason. I'm sure are you sure about that? I think I think I am. I think I I'm an Alex, uh host of Maybe Actually Museums Are For Me flagship podcast of the Montclaret Museum. Yes. Thanks for having me. Of course, Alex Pavluk.

from the Montclair Art Museum. You were in fact one of the first people in the community to reach out to us when we launched this podcast in January. Grateful that you could join us on this episode of all episodes because it is about the arts. You're surrounded by art all the time. You're the most artsy person we know, basically. And you're not that appreciated. You don't come off as artsy. You know, you're very approachable, Alex. I just wanna say.

Anyway, you recently graduated from MSU. You landed an amazing gig at the Montclair Art Museum. You're working quite hard over there, developing cool content, engaging the community. Tell us about your role. Yeah. Like you said, I'm an MSU alum. I graduated in twenty twenty four. I've lived in Montclair for about five years. Love this community, love this place, love

the opportunity that I got here at the museum. I started here mm as an intern and I tricked them into keeping me around. I do all of our social media, all of our video content, our podcasts now. Listeners, you may remember Alex, he was in our ghost episode. Do you still see ghosts? I haven't, but there's been a new ghost sighting in the museum recently. Really? Are we breaking news? Do tell. Oh my god. Uh yeah, nothing because just s some spooky sounds and noises from one of the classrooms.

I was in there doing an interview with somebody and there was a little bit of a shuffle that we both heard and we're like, Mm, I guess that checks out with what we heard from facilities. Interesting. What do you think it what do you think it is?

You know, there's different spirits that roam around and for the buildings uh we've been around for eleven decades, you know. The buildings from eighteen fourteen. There's a lot kicking around. So it's probably just one of the friendly ghosts that are hanging out, you know. And when we spoke last time, you said You had seen ghosts at MSU growing up, I think you had some encounters So you grew up in an old house in in Ocean County, yeah. Uh so you've got the spirit.

Is with you. You've got the sense. Yeah, I think so. You've got the sense. Yeah. You see dead people. Yes. Well hang tight because we will ask you, Alex, for more. From the museum. And all the cool exhibits and events you and your team have cooking up over there. Yeah, we're revisiting the art scene today with some fantastic features, including a closer look at the dance community. After our previous episode on the arts, many of you wrote in gently demanding.

Now we talk about our robust dance network in town. We listened and we are delivering. To that end, we have a one-on-one with a legend, Sharon Miller, who we heard at the top of the show. The name alone carries weight in the dance world and right here in Montclair. And did you know Montclair has launched its own dance festival? It took place earlier this spring and we're gonna hear from its artistic director about the festival's mission and how to get involved in the next event.

I'm a little offended. They didn't call me. Because I am probably just the best dancer in Montclair. We also bring you behind the scenes to some very cool art galleries, including Rhea Gallery in Upper Montclair, which features new and emerging artists and doubles as a frame shop. And the Tiny Gallery, which is popping in many places around town. Its mission is to bring small moments of beauty into our everyday lives. More on that coming up.

Well moving on to the news. What are we calling it this week, Mike? We're calling it News You Might Have Missed while getting towed on your birthday while going to the DMV. This is actually An important public service announcement and a true story. So, as you know, my birthday was recently, it was just on Monday, and my license. Needed to be renewed. So I had an appointment at this DMV in Patterson and I show up there. I couldn't figure out where to park.

initially and then I saw that there was a Wendy's and I was like, I'll go to Wendy's and have breakfast and then run over and get the thing renewed and then leave. So I went to Wendy's, parked in the Wendy's parking lot, went into the Wendy's Had some of the food left. ran across the street for about twenty minutes, came back and my car was towed. And they said it was because I left the premises. They literally had a guy watching people, and I fought it hard.

I was like, but I am a customer. It says only for customers, but I was a customer. I had the breakfast there. Uh it wasn't enough for them and I have receipts. I did. I took receipts and I showed it to them and I showed it to the people at the I had to take an Uber to the lot where it got towed. I was like, see?

I bought this before he I was a customer. And so I think there's a class action. He's like, you didn't tip you didn't tip. Yeah. Dude, there was somebody as I'm there freaking out in the parking lot. The tow truck comes back and starts to tow somebody else, and somebody runs out of the restaurant and is like, I am here. Stop it.

And then and then the tow truck is like, oops, and like zooms off and it was gone. Oh my god. They're like mid-bite. Oh my gosh. PSA, don't park there ever. Even if you are a patron. It was ugly. But anyway, that happened on my birthday. Sorry about that. That's okay. It's my own fault, I guess. No, actually it's not. I did the right thing. I bought the breakfast sandwich. It was not clear on the sign. This sounds like a perfect Judge Judy episode. I am

Certain. We should write to her producers. It would say it if the sign says. Mr Schreiber, tell me this. What were you doing when they took your car? Where were you? I was across the street when I think it got towed. But I definitely had the breakfast sandwich and I was Eating the food. What if I decided You right what if I decided I wanted to just get the sandwich and take a walk around the black Oh, this is like a horror story for me. I'm so paranoid about parking.

On fifty birthday. Did you tell them that it was your 50th birthday? Cut you some slack? Fuck yes, I told them. Do you think they cared? I told the parking guy that and all the guys at the lot, lovely people. Even and the people at Wendy's lovely people. Really? Are we sure about that? They were nice.

They were nice and they had to deal with a crazed Mike Schreiber. Couldn't have been easy. Couldn't have been easy. I was not happy uh at that situation. All right, before we eat into all of our time for the episode today, let's get into the news. All right, let's do it.

First up, after years of vacancy It's curtains up once again at the historic Bellevue Theater. And can you guess who will be running the show? None other than Montclair Film. The news arrived last week that the nonprofit, which also operates the Claridge Theater, has inked a multi year lease to operate the Bellevue Theater. The plan is to open its doors in time for the Montclair Film Festival, happening this October. And I would be remiss if I did not mention that.

that Tom Hall, the creative director and co head of the festival, was on the show recently. He co hosted with us what you're doing, Alex, today. And we asked him about this directly. Do you remember this for Andrew? I even planted the seed. I was like, I wouldn't you guys could use another theater, couldn't you? Come on. You think he let on nothing?

He was a cool character that Tom Hall. We've been invested in this since the beginning of our show when we went to the Bellevue and we took footage and we spoke. the developer and maybe they knew back then, back in I think it was like March when we got that private tour. You know what? We manifested this.

We should get lifetime free entry because we manifested this for them. At least free popcorn refills. It is true. We are collaborating on some fun stuff in the coming months with Montclair film. That's right. They are official partners. We got a bunch of cool things coming leading up and through the festival. Stay tuned. All right. Speaking of Montclair film, uh another item from the news, it's co founder Stephen Colbert, who has served As host of the late show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.

since twenty fifteen, announced that the show will end May of twenty twenty six. I'm sure you guys have heard that. It's a national story, but also has some relevance for us here in Montclair, given mister Colbert lives right here. In town. And there's all sorts of chatter about the true motivation of CBS's canceling the show. Paramount just settled with the administration, and Colbert ridiculed his parent company for that.

But that's his role as a late night host. It's his job to make fun of people even when he works for them. Then they cancel him, supposedly entirely for financial decisions. And which means I guess CBS is ceding the late night category entirely to ABC and NBC, despite the fact that Colbert is. currently or often at the very least the number one late night show. So they're just they're letting it go.

Hopefully that'll mean great things for uh Steven in town. He'll be able to do more things in town. Maybe he'll start a new late show right here in the great state of New Jersey, taking advantage of some of those tax. credits that you get for doing production here. Live from Wachong Plaza. Oh how cool would that be. They're redoing that that park in Wachong Plaza. Live from the art museum.

It's possible. Who knows? Alex, are your people calling his people? I think we gotta get on the phone. Yeah. We gotta try something. In all seriousness though, he could self produce and self distribute. There is no barrier to distribution. It's what we're doing. And if we can do it, uh there's no reason why he couldn't do it. And there are plenty of comedians

And and people that have developed content and then self distribute, you don't need a network necessarily to get the stuff in front of people. Especially when you have the kind of following that he does. So I don't know, I feel like for where media is right now, it's evolving. It's it's more possible for uh whether it's individuals, influencers, brands, what have you, to create compelling content and get it out there. I hope he does something. Yeah, I'm not worried about him.

Also, families with small children listen up a brand new play cafe called Milk and Mayhem. I love that name. Is opening on Valley Road created by a local couple, the space will have something for both grown-ups and their littles. According to Montclair Girl, once opened, parents can grab a coffee or a snack. While their kiddos from ages six months to six years can explore the space

Which will have toys and classes and probably many birthday parties. Construction is underway now. It sounds like a nice business. Yeah. Brilliant, actually. Brilliant, brilliant. As a parent who had littles. at one point, living in Montclair. During COVID. I guess this couldn't have really worked during COVID, but man, I would have loved some indoor recreation. Especially those cold winter months. You can't go outside. You need a coffee and you need to throw your kid into a jungle gym.

And by the way, it's at one hundred seven Valley Road, not far from Tierney's, just saying. And also news from that same area, aka Frog's Hollow. The quick check on Valley Road is closing today. Today is the last day of quick check, according to the local Today, July 24th, is your last chance to grab a snack or a lottery ticket from them. The high school kids are gonna be devastated. Rea is there all the time. Like she and her friends are mourning this.

And I have frequented the place on occasion too. Band practice on Thursday nights typically starts at Tierne's and ends at quick check. You need to go get quick check chicken. With your boys. Well I have. Well again before it closes, like after we record, you gotta go. Tr Trump chicken. And it's another round of trunk chicken. Not trump chicken. Trunk. Trunk chicken. We would go there, order the chicken fingers from Quick Check, then go to my car in the Tierney's parking lot.

and eat the chicken out of the trunk of my car. It was a proud moment for me. I was my husband suspects there's already a new lease on the place. And you think it's gonna be a Wawa or something? Like another convenience? I wouldn't mind a Wawa. We need some sort of convenience in that area. Yeah, I like the idea of a convenience store with a crispy crunchy chicken in it.

You guys know about crispy crunchy chicken, don't you? Alex, I don't. It's okay if you say no. Don't let him intimidate you, Alex. What are we talking about? It is a fried chicken chain that often opens either in gas stations or convenience stores or other restaurants. It's like

You license it and you add it to an existing business typically. So I think and it's very good. It's really good down south. They've got one somewhere within ten miles of here, maybe in Bloomfield. But that would be cool. What would that add to our Fried chicken tally in Monclair. Correction, Mike is the expert. I filmed the last fried chicken.

Taste test. I did not participate. Uh you're being very judgy right now. It's not okay. Speaking of food, finally, now you can make a resie for your table at MM Morimoto. This is the new Japanese restaurant by Iron Chef. Masaharu Morimoto, located on Glen Ridge Avenue, the twelve thousand square foot restaurant opens July thirty first.

When are we going? Are we going soon, Farnouge? We are. Check your calendar. We're going. It's happening. We're going. We're bringing our microphones as well. Stay tuned for that. We're getting a sneak peek. Hopefully. That's the former location of the Maddox, right? Yes, correctly over in my neighborhood, so I'm eager to check. Yeah. We think it's a cursed location, although I think that Chef Morimoto might break the curse. He's gonna break the if anybody can break the curse, he can. And that

All right, Alex, let's talk about the museum for a bit. Things that might surprise us about the museum. I mean, you host this podcast called Maybe Museums Are For Me, suggesting that. There are misnomers about museums in general that you want to dispel. And and so tell us a little bit about the Montclair Art Museum and why it's for everyone, especially those listening.

Yeah. You know, what the podcast does, uh in a sense is it's kinda culmination of what I was hired to do in a way, which is dispel a lot of preconceived notions and prestige bias around not only ma'am but just cultural institutions, art museums, galleries in general. You know, I don't think people realize that MAM is eleven decades old. Some people might think, Oh, it's a museum in a suburb, it's probably just all local artists or what have you. And it's like, no, there are huge

really beloved names that you would find in the collections of MoMA or the Met or the Frick. There is a large array of artworks from Andy Warhol to George O'Keefe, John Singer Sargent.

Obviously George Innis, a local legend here in Montclair, even contemporary artists like Michaeline Thomas or Sarah Zee. That's the first kind of thing that I think people don't realize. And when I've talked to a lot of people that grew up in the area, have lived here for many years and haven't been to the museum before, they just don't realize the caliber of art that's held within the museum's collection. And then additionally on top of that, you know, the the programming that we do is is

Really robust. Six months out of the year, we host a free First Thursday, which essentially gives the greatest opportunity to come see what we have in store and on view. It's free access to the galleries, food trucks, an open bar.

Usually music performances, sometimes it's like a winter art market thing. There's different themed events with other partner organizations. So we really try to keep it fresh and fun. And it's a really great first museum for people. You know, we really focus on tours and school groups, but if for everybody. There is this kind of belief, whether it's abstract art or, you know, it hyper realistic art or photography or

sculptural work, there's this kind of like art history knowledge that if you don't have it, you're not gonna enjoy the art, and that's just completely false. And I think trusting yourself that if you let yourself go into a space and experience the art firsthand, you're going to fall in love with it. Anything cool coming this summer, later this summer? We're doing half price tickets throughout the rest of the summer. You know, some of the galleries closed.

In the summer, it's a little bit smaller. We're already a small institution, so to then close two galleries, it it feels kinda like robbery to try and charge. full price for that. So there's still some great shows on view. So you can see Interwoven Power, Native Knowledge, Native Art. That is our newly renovated indigenous art gallery space. George Ennis will be open for a little while. Family Community Belonging and Platinum to Postcards at Photography Show are all on view for half price.

And then coming in the early fall, we are really excited about uh this show that is coming. It's called Tom Nussbaum, but wait, there's more. Tom Nussbaum is a local artist who is really beloved. You may be familiar with some of Tom Nussbaum's work. He does a lot of sculptural, alive public art work. So if you've ever been to the playground in Edgemont Park.

He did some of the sculptural work there. Over at Bay Street Station, he did some of the artwork there. He's done work all across New Jersey, and it's over ninety of his work. We're really excited about it here at the museum. That is so great. Well, we'll definitely be revisiting the arts in season three, maybe timed with that.

All right, let's dive further into the art world, beginning with one of the most beloved artists. dance in Montclair. She's a luminary in the New Jersey dance community, a Juilliard student, former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and a Broadway performer. We're talking about the Sharon Miller. That's right. For thirty years Sharon Miller has run the Sharon Miller Academy for the Performing Arts.

I stopped by her studio this week for a really wonderful conversation. She was very generous with her time. We talked about her journey, which actually began in Montclair. Took her around the world to Broadway, as you said, and eventually back to Montclair. Very quickly I found out it made me feel whole and healthy and alive, not knowing at seven years old what whole healthy and alive really meant. The music and the movement and the sweat.

And all the things that went into dancing made me feel good. It made me feel like I couldn't do anything that was required. That's Sharon Miller, talking about her love of Dan. It all started when a doctor diagnosed her with flat feet and told her mom that ballet could help. She still loves the art and the life it's given her. Eighty years ago she was born in Anacostia, a rough part of DC. Her parents split up, and her mom remarried and moved to Montclair when she was sick.

I went to Nishawain, which back then was from kindergarten to sixth grade and then junior high which was Hillside and then Montclair High. But in addition I was going to Garden State Ballet in Newark every day, and that was my true joy. Garden State Ballet was strictly a ballet conservatory. But when I was twelve they brought

a modern teacher in, whose name was Joyce Trissler, and Joyce Trissler was the only white member at the time of the Alvinelli American Dance Theater. And they did a master class And my mom allowed me to do the master class and it was so wonderful to experience along with company members what it was like to dance in that style. After the performance was over, I told my mom, I'm gonna be in that company one day. And my mother said, Haha ya and I said you never can tell.

Her mom expected a lot, and she delivered. She got straight A's, she spent her junior year living in France with her dad, who was a diplomat, and after high school she got into the dance program at Juilliard, where she also studied psychology, and that training also served her. when she was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime and a very big choice. What I learned from Psychology One O One is that

you have something inside of you that is always dying to come out. And if you're lucky you get to experience it. If you're not you internalize it, you get all kinds of ailments and I decided I wasn't gonna get any ailments. So I didn't finish Juilliard even though I told my mom I would, because into my third year there I had the opportunity to audition for Alvadaley and that's when I got in.

She was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from nineteen sixty seven to nineteen seventy. They traveled all over the country and the world. I got to go to like seventeen countries and Africa with a State Department tour and all across the United States. But after three years of doing that, and it takes a lot of self discipline to sustain your body and your mind when you're doing all that. I decided I wanted to do Broadway.

Just wanted to do that. One of the shows was a public theater with Joseph Papp, the Delacourt Theatre too. I wrote Summer stock, regional theater, and then of course I did Broadway, and I guess my biggest Broadway show was the Pajama Game, starring Hal Linden, Cap Callaway, Barbara McNair and me. So her co star Hal Linden starred in a TV show called Barney Miller.

which was one of the most popular sitcoms at the time, so Hal Linden was at the height of his T V fame. Not to mention Cap Callaway, who was pretty much a legend at the time. His song, Minnie the Moocher, you know it from the Blues brothers maybe, is an American classic and he played her love interest in the play. He was extraordinary. He was talented, he was giving. I've learned so much from him in terms of family. He loved his family, his wife was always there, His daughter was in the show and

He was giving as an actor. He knew how to get a laugh. Just b his look we he would get a laugh. She did seven Broadway shows, not to mention two hundred and fifty TV commercials, and then she got married in nineteen eighty one to a guy named Elliot Finkel. They're divorced now, but she says happily they're friends. Elliot Fingel happens to be the son of Fivish Fingel, a famous Borsch Belt comedian.

You might have seen him on a show called Picket Fences or Boston Public. He usually played a kind of annoyed old man in his later years, but he was the legend who'd been on stage since he was six. And his son Elliot is an insanely good piano player and for years toured with people like Sid Caesar and Milton Burl and Regis Philbin, and sometimes Sharon Miller would go on those trips with him. and one time she found herself in the home of Ginger Rogers,

who was maybe the most famous dancer in the world from the movie. She would often talk about the shoes that she had to wear that killed her feet and I would say I and now I feel so sorry that I said this, but I would say you don't nothing about pain until you've danced on a stage with bare feet. Splinters and and Coca Cola. Coca Cola was the antidote for slippery stages. And when we were travelling through Europe

Oh God. Yes, we poured Coca Cola on the floors. They were splinters on the floors. So you told Ginger Rogers what's what? I really felt badly afterwards. I did. I I really w yeah, that was bad. Eventually the couple had a baby, and like so many of us, they decided it was time to move to the burbs, and even though she never thought she'd move back to Montclair, they decided to.

Even back then it was the interracial capital of the world. Plus her parents were still here, so free childcare, and that's when the academy started to take shape. I started in a little nursery school called Over the Rainbow where my daughter was going. and And um it w turned out to be very successful as a little program. And one thing led to another and these children they were no longer three or four, they were now going to kindergarten. And the parents were asking me whether I actually had

a place that I taught classes and I said no and someone reminded me that the uh Y on Glenridge Avenue had a dance studio. So she starts a program at the YMCA. But after a while she and the Y break up and she decides to go it alone and she creates Chara Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts.

A not for profit, tax exempt, arts education organization, five oh one C three. I got it all in. We've been in existence for thirty years. Programs in public schools in Essex County, Passai County, and Hudson County. We work with thousands of children a year and we have this beautiful new space here at ten Erie Street in Montclair, and I'm about to teach and say. And that was Sharon Miller, I have to say when I first moved here.

I felt like I kept on hearing about Sharon Miller from people. My daughter actually did go to her about ten years ago or when she was really little and I remember she met Misty Copeland. Oh dance studio and there's a picture somewhere of Rhea with Misty Copeland.

at Sharon Miller. It was quite a treat. At FYI the school has a new address. In June they relocated to Erie Street, near where the farmers market is, into a new state of the art studio. It is beautiful. They offer classes From preschool on up.

Sticking with dance, Sharon Miller Academy for the Performing Arts was one of several participating dance companies in this year's inaugural Montclair Dance Festival. It was a day-long event and featured a variety of dance genres. Held in May at Montclair State University. And we had the chance to speak with its artistic director, Donna Scro Samori. Samori is a proud MSU alum, she has a BFA in dance and has had a long and impressive career performing with renowned companies.

touring the world and eventually founding her own company called Free Space Dance right here in Montclair. She's also shaping the next generation of dancers as a faculty member at MSU. Listen as she shares the origins of the festival and what's ahead. In many ways, Montclair, we have so many events going on, uh, but we didn't have a dance festival of this scale before. What took so long? Yeah. So there was Dance on the Lawn. I don't know if you remember, but Dance on the Lawn was

an outdoor dance festival that we had been a part of since the inception. We performed, I served on the artistic panel. And when Dance on the Lawn had announced that that would be their last year, which I believe was in twenty twenty three. we decided to sort of take it over, but we wanted to do something different.

our vision was for it to be more like the Montclair Jazz Festival, the Montclair Film Festival, that eventually it will grow into a multi-day event where there'll be dance workshops and conferences and different levels of performances happening throughout the town. What was the theme or the intention behind this year's curation of dancers and how did it all play out on stage. Were you were you thrilled? We were thrilled. We couldn't have been more thrilled for our inaugural year. It was

such an incredible success. There was over 100 dancers who participated, over 600 people who had come to the festival to the performance. We had outdoor vendors, all those food vendors and music, and it was just really had this whole kind of festival feel to it. And there were fifteen professional companies. 20 emerging and established artists and 15 dance studios high schools. So we really wanted to showcase.

the different levels of artistic excellence in the state of New Jersey in dance, right? From high school pre-professional to merging artists to more established artists to the professional company. So That's how the whole day went. How would you describe our appreciation for dance, how it's evolved over the generations, and where are we leaning more towards when it comes to celebrating dance?

I think that's an amazing question because I remember when I was dancing professionally and I would say I'm a dancer and people would kind of look at me with this puzzled look like they couldn't conceptualize w what kind of dancer I was. Like did I work in no did I work in a club as an entertainer? Did I work on a cruise ship? Was I a ballet dancer? Like do you work on Broadway? There was a sort of this puzzle look of what what do you mean by a dancer? I think now people are much more exposed

To different genres of dance, and maybe because a lot has to do with the TV show. So you think you could dance, right? They would bring on all these different choreographers and it would be more contemporary and modern dance. And I do think people understanding of the variety of dance that's out there that isn't Broadway ballet entertainment, that there is an artistic

concert dance that we call contemporary or modern dance, that more people really now conceptualize that, understand that they have seen that they've been exposed to it. Like any art form. I feel as if it should be celebrated, appreciated, and that people should be exposed to it.

I feel like we've grown. Maybe even just like social media, just people having more access to seeing different kinds of dance just at their fingertips. I love that it's in Montclair. I'm a little biased. We're biased, but w what does Montclair bring to an event like this? We're such a rich cultural town. How does the community help to shape the festival and vice versa? Yeah. Our first year we received a grant from the New Jersey Council of the Arts for twenty five thousand dollars to

had this festival and it was a match and grant. So we turned to our local businesses and we turned to our connections and people that we knew and said we had it was a match and grant. Will you help us? Will you sponsor us? Will you help us raise this these funds? So I think to your point, it being a cultural Artistic tone. People are like, dance, yes, let's do it. Let's get behind it. We need a Montclair dance festival.

it it just seems like it is the perfect breeding ground for something like this. And now that we have all the statistics of how successful the day was, we're hopeful that they will raise or increase their donations. We're looking for more sponsors. And this year our plan is to do three to four community events.

where we partner with somebody in the community and we have a little cocktail party, a dance party, some sort of thing so that we can get really in with particular groups in in the community and hopefully with that sort of personal, more intimate connection that we can get individual donors and who knows who and I know somebody and rubbing elbows with people in the town who can be really helpful.

In addition to increasing our sponsors and asking our past sponsors to sponsor again and maybe even consider increasing what they gave us. I'm remembering people saying this was amazing. I will be back next year. Can I help in any way? We had people coming up to us saying, I would like to voluntarily like to be a part of this in some way. This was so amazing. people who never been a part of anything like this. We're sort of blown away and want it more. And the people have been doing this.

For years and years thought, wow, you did such a great job in putting this together and really showcasing the artistry of dance in New Jersey. That is our theme and our goal is really showcasing from that pre-professional all the way to that professional level of the excellence and the artistry of dance in our And that was Donna Scro Samori. The next Dance Festival is slated for spring twenty twenty six, and you can learn more at montclair dancefestival dot com.

Coming up after the break, we explore some cool art galleries in town. Plus, why do custom art frames cost so damn much? Mike, living in Montclair. Latest school controversy. And somewhere in there, taking care of yourself. Which is why we were fascinated to meet Renee Ambrose, founder of Men Lymphatic Play.

Center right in Upper Montclair. Ambrose specializes in manual lymphatic drainage. It's a gentle treatment that helps your body manage inflammation, fluid retention, digestion, recovery from surgery, and even symptoms related to paramenopause and menopause. And she's not just coming at this from a spa perspective. Ambrose is one of the only providers in New Jersey who is both a licensed physical therapist to

Massage therapist specializing in lymphatic care. Her clients include women navigating hormonal. People recovering from surgery, postpartum moms, and anyone looking to support their immune system and overall wellness. Also, some of her clients have given her a nickname. Yes. The Poop Whisperer. Which honestly might be the most Monclair wellness super.

Power we've ever heard. Mend is located in a beautiful historic building on Cooper Avenue in Upper Montclair, alongside other women's health providers, including pelvic floor therapy and Support. So if your body feels like it needs a reset, visit Mend Lymphatic Wellness Center in Upper Montclair. Because sometimes wellness is really a bad. You've probably heard people talk about the disappearance of third spaces.

Those places outside of home and work where communities gather. As more of our lives move online, a lot of people are feeling that loss. And one of the most powerful ways to bring people back together is through the art. That's the idea behind Champion for the Arts, a special event hosted by Peak Performances at Montclair State University, happening Thursday, March 26th.

At 6 p.m. in Presentation Hall. The featured guest is Donna Walker Kuhn, widely considered one of the nation's leading experts on building audiences for the arts. She's helped shape engagement strategies at organizations like the Public Theater, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the New York City Opera.

The conversation will be moderated by Montclair Films Tom Hall, and it's all about how communities like ours can strengthen and grow inclusive arts audiences across Montclair and Essex County. The event will also recognize MSU students as champions for the arts. for their work supporting creativity on campus. And the best part, tickets are free. You can learn more and register at peakperfs.org. That's P-E-A-K-P-E-R-F-S dot org.

And we are back. Now moving on to the art gallery scene. Do either of you, Farnoush or Alex, invest in art or want to get into that kind of thing? I bought some pieces during the pandemic when we moved to Montclair and I had suddenly many more walls than our apartment in Brooklyn. I've always loved art, mostly I would say modern art. I like big bold colors. And that's what we went for. We bought some really fun pieces. I think one has appreciated quite well. Although it's hard to Say right.

worth what someone's willing to pay for it in a moment in time. I'm seeing it online for going for theoretically more. So that makes me feel good. But I've always learned and I've done episodes about this on my other podcast, so money about investing in art. The number one rule Buy what you love. Because it's an alternative investment. At best.

And it may or may not appreciate. So you're gonna be stuck with it. You better love it. Yeah. One of the things that I learned at MAM is that there's kind of this prestige bias that I've noticed where people have this perception like you have to be making Uber millions of dollars. I got r the opportunity to do an interview with an art collector. He was the guy who purchased the Solvador Mundi, which was n is seen as a very controversial piece because it's allegedly the last Leonardo.

So I don't know how he acquired it, but it was found in New Orleans and it got into his possession. Um he's an art dealer in in New York and essentially he ended up selling it for eighty million dollars. Oh my God. Yeah, and then it sold to a I think like a Russian oligarch for a couple hundred million dollars and then it went through a few more hands and ended up

to add a Saudi Prince for 400 million and change or whatever. And I could have the numbers slightly off. It's it's roughly those numbers. And it's crazy. And so that's the perception that you could get about this is what it takes to collect art. And that's just simply not the case.

So artists like Mikeline Thomas, who I mentioned earlier, who we have in our collection, Yard Mam, she did a really cool thing I saw recently where she posted that she was selling essentially ten or eleven works that I think all capped at about a thousand dollars. And essentially they were prints, but she was adding actual elements, whether that was like fiber pieces or p paintings or whatever, like

She was adding to them. So it was like more than just a print. It was like truly a Micheline Thomas work that was accessible for somebody to purchase. Wow. I love that. Well, in our next segment, we're gonna learn more about the Montclair Collector. We are stepping inside Rhea Gallery.

a place that's equal parts, fine art gallery, and custom frame studio. It's owned by Rhea Mulvey, a self-taught artist and entrepreneur whose story is as layered and textured as the work She hangs on her walls. In our conversation, we go behind the scenes of her dual business, we'll learn how the framing side keeps the gallery afloat, what Montclair's art buyers are looking for these days.

business'cause the art gallery cannot sustain itself. Not in this economy, not in this reality that we're in right now. That's Rhea Mulvey, artist, entrepreneur, and the heart behind one of Monclair's most distinctive businesses on Bellevue Avenue. From the outside, her namesake gallery and frame shop might look like just another boutique, but step inside and you'll find a carefully constructed ecosystem, a full service frame shop that props up a labor of love art gallery.

This place like lend itself so well to an art gallery, so I'm like, let's do a community kinda gallery part as well as a framing. And right now with economic uncertainty and political unrest, the art world needs more support than ever. No, I feel like it's The turn of the times. It happens every time there's like a recession. It happens when there's like crazy political events going on, uh, downturn in events for stock markets.

Art is the first place that takes the biggest hit. But framing, that's been a different story. Our framing business boomed during the pandemic. It's been like Christmas ever since. Before then we were kind of like a Hallmark business, busy on Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmases, all the holidays.

And then when the pandemic hit, everybody was stuck at home. They wanted their back wall from their Zoom screen to be cool every time'cause people would be like, Oh my God, your art is so cool and then they get into that whole rhythm of like constantly changing it out. doing the rest of their homes, uh the rooms. You will have somebody who just bought a two, three million dollar house and then they show up with all this art that they were hand me downs from their parents.

And they're like all original Keith Herrings and Andy Warholes. And that's like a whole nother game of framing. And then you have people who will pick up something from the sidewalk and then spend two thousand dollars on a frame. So it's it's a really great mix of different people. Mulvey didn't go to art school. She was supposed to study textiles, a family tradition, at NYU, but her father had other plans. Textile is my

ancestry business. My grandparents from both sides were in the textile industry, and I was, you know, obsessed with the detailing of all of that. And my dad's was like, I'm not paying for college for that'cause that thing on the computer

That thing on your table, this is like nineteen ninety four. He's like, No, textile is gonna be taken over. It's already going to China He's like, What are you gonna do? Move to China to make the rugs and the patterns? And He convinced me to learn the framing which By 18, she was running a frame shop on the Upper West Side. Eventually, deliveries to Montclair introduced her to a new community of art lovers. And in 2011, she opened her first space here.

Montclair and Upper West Side have some kind of migration back in the nineties and early two thousands. And I discovered Montclair by delivering to Montclair. And I found this really cute block. I was like, Why are we not here? Like a quarter of our clientele is In here now. Today, Mulvey's still framing everything from sidewalk fines to original Keith Herrings. The typical Montclair art buyer, she says, has money and deep respect for the arts.

They get it. They know that this is a six thousand dollar piece. Somebody spent hundreds of hours working on it. And they buy it because they want it, not because it's gonna be three times the value. You just don't know. Meanwhile, framing, Mulvey says, is about more than aesthetics. It's preservation and permanence.

to protect the piece of art, whether it's a poster or photograph, kids art, you know, an a museum piece, framing protects it. It's a interesting business. It's one of those businesses that robots will never do. Like mass produce uh AI can't do. So it's one of those old school businesses that we will always need. And while the adjoining art gallery may not be a profit engine, it's where Mulvey's creative spirit lives.

She curates each exhibit based on instinct, not art world trends. My taste. I kinda go by what like makes me happy. Something I would hang in my own house. And Montclair's art scene is evolving, she says, just like the town itself. We're going more modern. We're going more pop art. We're going more graffiti. We're going more black art. More and more people are investing in the black art community. Even in hard times or maybe especially in hard times, people still seek out beauty.

Meaning and connection. Mulvey sees it every day. We support all the arts in our town, the high school kids, all the um college kids, having them come in and shadow us and all that kind of stuff. Currently on exhibit at the gallery is Modern Art by Alan Gorman, who Malvey explained is self-taught, nearing 80 years of age, and only got into the art world himself about 15 years ago. Select pieces from his collection will be on display until september thirteenth.

All right, well time to zoom in literally because good things come in small frames too. That's right. In just a few years, Tiny Gallery has blossomed into a growing network of mini exhibition spaces where artists of all ages and backgrounds can share their work with neighbors, passersby, and curious art lovers alike here. The whole idea is that you're busy, you're s you're rushing, you're walking your dog, and then you are just sort of stumble upon this.

exquisite thing and it sort of stops you in your tracks and you have this moment of wonder. It's sort of an anonymous intervention. That exquisite thing? It's called Tiny Gallery. Part exhibition space, part neighborhood surprise. Think of it like a little free library, if it had an artistic cousin, instead of books. You'll find miniature art, paintings, collages, sculptures, photography, all tucked into a tiny box display, just big enough to make you pause.

Always loved tiny things. I had a very, you know, involved relationship with my dollhouse. My dollhouse was very elaborate. Tiny Gallery was created by Francesca Castagnoli, who has an art history background and has worked in the magazine world, and her husband David Moore, a technologist and fabricator. Together they've transformed a shared love of craft and storytelling into

into something small and powerful. Pieces in the tiny gallery are roughly the size of wallet sized photos. This isn't regular art miniature. Art that In a world where art can feel out of reach or intimidating, the tiny gallery is accessible and approachable. It's at intimacy on all levels. It's the it's the one-to-one that you have literally physically near a small piece of art that you're looking at.

And it creates that sort of safe space, right? There's like there's like sort of a magical space around you and the art. The idea for a tiny gallery first emerged during a walk. one of many in the stillness of the pandemic. Castignoli was feeling uninspired and a little envious of her son, who had just left for art school. And he was

telling me he was gonna go to this show and he was doing this class. And I was thrilled for him and I was a little, you know, twangy jealous. You know, like I noticed him. I was like, oh You know, and I was it was you know, the pandemic was just we were just coming out of the pandemic. After we got off the phone, you know, I was sort of like, Seems kind of sad, I'm stuck in Montclair, walking around here looking at

Little libraries. That street that I was on happens to have a lot of little libraries. And I was just looking in one and I thought, why can't there be more art in Monclair? I just wish there was art in this. And then I was like, Oh. And so began the first tiny gallery, built with her husband and son from scrap wood and salvaged window glass. It took us forever. It took them forever. We built one out of test.

Scrap lumber and like old window glass maybe or something like that. You know, and it was it was smaller than the ones that we have now. Then came a fateful dinner in Seattle with an artist friend. Castignoli mentioned the idea.

I said, I just have to tell you about this really kooky project. I wanna put this tiny gallery on my front lawn. I wanna be exhibiting art. And Yana like immediately, without hesitation, was like, I completely understand. Can I be I want you want me to be your first artist? And I was like, Yeah Six weeks later, a box arrived. It was the most moving, exquisite. I was just, it was as if someone had sent me like a box of.

They just were so small and everything was in them as if it was a big painting. All of the energy, all of the work, all of the story was still there in this tiny thing. And it was deeply moving. And deeply personal and it's I think I even said out loud, I don't know what this is, I don't know what's happening, but this is what I'm doing forever. Since then, Tiny Gallery has grown to include eleven active boxes across Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Bloomfield. The couple now collaborates with

schools, nonprofits, and local institutions, including Montclair Film and an upcoming exhibit at Lackawanna Plaza. And this August they're hosting the biggest tiny art show, inviting submissions from all over the community. The submissions we're getting are just

I wanna give everyone a show. You know, they're just phenomenal and it's so surprising and yet it shouldn't be surprising. And it's this there's just something very moving that someone comes and makes this and gives it to you and then you have it and that you're responsible letting other people see it, I find it to be like a very meaningful moment of service type of thing, of sharing. Because I really believe that art heals.

And you can find a tiny gallery at eight Stanford Place or several other locations around Montclair and Glen Ridge. And if you want to be part of the biggest tiny art show, submissions are open through early August.

Follow at TinyGallery Montclair on Instagram for updates. Okay, time for events. It's the arts episode, and when you know it, there are a bunch of great happenings in the area that qualify as the arts. And let's start with music. Mike, you're gonna love this. For the next few days, there's a ton of yacht rock happening. On Friday, Chicago is playing at NJ Pack in Newark. Do you know Chicago? Actually, do you guys know the band Chicago? I've heard of their music, of course, yeah.

Twenty five or six two four? No. Like Alex is looking at me like I've got a third eye or something. No. Listen to Yacht Rock. If I'm on a beach and I have a cold cocktail in my hand, why not? I'm a passive yacht rock listener. But wait, Mike, also on Friday, Toto, Men at Work, and Christopher Cross at PNC Bank Art Center in Homedough. Which one are you gonna pick? This is like Sophie's choice.

It's tough. Like, how do you pick? I think I'm going Toto Men at Work and Christopher Cross. I like men at work too, but like you get a lot of bang for your buck, even though you gotta go to all all the way to Home Dell for that one. But I I think that's what I'm picking. But wait there's more. It gets really tough because there's also a Motown show in Brookdale Park at seven thirty on Friday night. What you gonna do?

Too much music. That does complicate things'cause it's right next to my house and I love me some Motown and I could I'm stumbling distance home. I'm probably going to Brookdale Park if I have to choose. But I got a ton of family in town, so Well, we will um Make you a playlist and a stress ball. Yeah, and I'll uh I'll do the cover art. There we go.

You guys gonna come? You gonna come to Brookdale on Friday night maybe? I'm going to the Faux Doors band, cover band on at the Wellmont on Thursday. So I'm even taking that day off, so yeah, I can go two nights. I can go two nights of music. That'd be fun. Well moving on to sport this weekend, actually Thursday through Sunday, the New Jersey World Series of Baseball is happening up at Montclair State.

Some of the best young baseball players are gonna be there, as will the scouts from schools and teams, I imagine. That's our show, everybody. Next week our climate episode. After last week's devastating floods in neighboring towns.

How are we going to climate proof our homes if we haven't already. Also, what's the deal with free solar panels? Thank you also to Alex Pavluk for joining us. Check out his awesome podcast. Maybe actually museums are for me. And be sure to check out the Montclair Art Museum, of course. All summer and well, all year, really. It never closes. I mean I guess it does we keep the lights on. For the ghosts. Yeah. We'll leave the lights on for ya. Name what was that from? That was Motel Six?

We'll leave the lights. Remember that commercial? Motel Six had commercials? We'll leave the lights. You really are fifty, Mike. Subscribe, share, and join our newsletter, everybody. MontclairPod.com. John Mullaney has a really great like late night ask talk show. I love John Mullaney. I on the night Trump won the first time. He and Nick Kroll had a show on Broadway called Oh Hello. Which is based on the Too Much Tuna sketch. You guys know that one? Yes.

Oh hello is how I made me and my best friend from college became best friends was just quoting Oh hello the entire day. I do that all the time. Yeah. Too much tuna. That night I was I was alone in the city. And I decided to just walk up to the window and I bought the best ticket they had and I just sat there but those theaters. You order like a gin and tonic, and like it comes in like a giant sippy cup. It's like a triple. It's like$1,100. Yeah. I got hammered.

And videotaped so much of that show. I almost got thrown out. You were bootlegging the show? I bootlegged the show. Uh but I felt like it was important. It was on a momentous side. It was for democracy's sake. Yeah. It was for democracy. I do a lot for democracy. Give me a break.

And they had a different guest every night at the show where that that they would interview. And that night it was Geraldo Rivera who had supported Trump until he didn't, but he was still like in t in the Trump camp. They confronted him about it. They were like, So what do you have to say for yourself? And Haralu was just like I I dunno, I don't know what to tell you, I did not think this was gonna happen. It was pretty hilarious the whole thing.