The Ventnor Cultural Arts Center is getting ready for the busy summer season.
VENTNOR – A makeover of sorts at the Ventnor Cultural Arts Center located at the rear of the Atlantic County Library, 6500 Atlantic Ave., is getting artists and makers ready for a summer season filled with art classes and exhibitions.
The rooms were emptied out, painted and rearranged to make the studios more efficient for the multitude of children and adults who will learn the fundamentals of art and more this summer and throughout the year.
The building is owned by the city, which provides the space for artists working in several mediums to learn how to perfect their paintings, mosaics, pottery and movement.
Across the hall from the two-room arts center, there’s a dance studio where children and adults learn ballet, jazz and tap, and practice yoga and Zumba.
“We are comparable to the fine arts schools in Philadelphia, but we provide classes at a very reasonable cost,” Executive Director Susan VanDuyne Hunter said. “We can do that because the city supports us. If not, our prices would be four times what they are.”
VanDuyne Hunter has been at the helm of the arts center for the last three years, but she’s worked there teaching pottery and ceramics for the last 12 years. She started there a year before she married Clint Hunter, who is also a potter.
Ventnor City Cultural Arts Center is located at 6500 Atlantic Ave.
The arts center is a non-profit organization with a Board of Directors that was started in 1974 by Dr. James Mason, who also formed the Ventnor City Historical Society, and a group of “die hards” who love the arts, VanDuyne Hunter said.
It operated in a trailer next to the former ice skating rink until the library building was reconstructed 13 years ago, VanDuyne Hunter said.
“It was very small, but they did some cool stuff there,” she said.
Today, instructors work year-round mentoring high-quality artists from the Downbeach and off-shore communities, and provide educational programs for children and adults.
“All of our instructors are the best in their fields,” VanDuyne Hunter said. “They offer classical training and teach students how to use each medium with the right craftsmanship and techniques.”
The effort has paid off as evidenced by a steady enrollment and a burgeoning summer camp program.
“We have 20-30 students in classes year-round and about 50 a day during the summer programs. With dance, it’s probably more like 100,” she said.
Ventnor Cultural Arts Center Executive Director Susan VanDuyne Hunter shows some of the items made by students in an after school program co-sponsored by the Ventnor Municipal Alliance.
The summer dance class for ages 7-18 is designed to build self-confidence, strength and creativity. The first class starts July 8 with ballet, tap, jazz and tumbling instruction with Gina Palmer, who’s been teaching children the love of movement and self-expression for many years. The cost is $96 for eight classes
Although the arts center is now offering enrollment for the eight-week summer camps, which start in early July and are held on a weekly basis during the season, fine artists from the area attend classes year-round, she said.
“Adult classes are ongoing and people can join anytime. Teachers work with people individually and you can pay as you go. With group classes, you get a little discount,” she said.
The arts center developed its open enrollment philosophy because people with busy schedules find it difficult to commit to a weekly class, “so we want to be flexible. It works for people,” she said.
The center partnered with the Ventnor Municipal Alliance, the city’s drug and alcohol prevention organization, to provide children with creative after school activities that prevent negative behaviors.
“We just finished up our medicinal pottery mosaics program, which includes an adult-child pairing,” she said. “We had about 10 pairs of children and adults attend for eight weeks to do mosaic projects.”
Children have been helping out with the mosaic wall outside the Ventnor Cultural Arts Center.
The couples worked on making mosaic hearts and birdhouses with teacher Michele Pasciullo, who has been making mosaics since 2008, and teaches in Ventnor, Ocean City and Rowan University.
“We will have a free Open Mosaics Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 for children 6 and older,” VanDuyne Hunter said.
Attendees will be able to try their hand at making a birdhouse or work on the mosaic mural on the side of the building that’s been an ongoing project at the arts center for several years.
The center recently opened enrollment for its Summer Camp programs. VanDuyne Hunter recommends signing up “sooner rather than later” to prevent a budding artist from being shut-out of attending the class of their choice.
“We fill up closer to the start of classes, so it’s best to enroll now to ensure you can get the session you want,” she said.
Jewelry maker and instructor Janet Bodoff displays her work during the Holiday Art Show and Sale at the Ventnor City Cultural Arts Center.
VanDuyne Hunter organizes the center’s annual juried art exhibitions, including the Ocean Breeze Arts and Crafts Show, which will be held July 6 this year, and the Holiday Art Show and Sale that’s held near the winter holidays. The center also does smaller exhibitions during the summer, called Art in the Park, in conjunction with the Ventnor Business Association’s summer concert series.
VanDuyne Hunter has also organized the Atlantic County Senior Art Show for several years.
Senior citizen artists over 60 can submit a recent artwork during the week of April 15-20 for the Senior Art Show being held May 1-30. The artworks will be on display throughout the month on the second floor of the library. Winners will be recognized 1 p.m. Thursday, May 30 with a reception and ribbons awarded for first, second and third place, and honorable mention in 11 mediums for both professional and amateur artists.
Freeholder Frank Formica and Susan VanDuyne Hunter present awards to senior artists displaying their work during last year’s Atlantic County Senior Art Show at the Ventnor Library.
Those who receive a blue ribbon receive a $100 monetary award and are automatically eligible to advance to the statewide competition. More information about the competition is available at http://www.atlantic-county.org/intergenerational-services/art-show.asp
Her first love is making pottery and ceramics so she teaches it on Mondays. Other locally renowned artists who teach at the center include: Janet Bodoff of Ventnor, who teaches jewelry making and metal-smithing at various times; Linda Kaufman of Margate, who teaches watercolors on Tuesdays and pastels on Thursdays; and Chuck Law of Linwood, known for his plein air landscapes, who teaches painting with oils and acrylics on Wednesdays. Most classes are $20 per session or $68 for four classes.
Susan VanDuyne Hunter paints a design on a pottery cup before firing it in the kiln.
Margo Juliano Thompson conducts a four-week mixed media class for children after school that includes drawing, painting and crafts. Four classes, $40.
Palmer teaches Zumba on Mondays, and Deb Marshall leads a gentle yoga class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Walk ins welcome. Classes range from $10-12 per session.
For more information about classes and summer camps, see ventnorarts.org or Ventnor Cultural Arts Center on Facebook. Or you can call the center at 609-823-7952.
Pottery gets fired in the kiln.
