Mansa K. Mussa's Work Will Be On Display at Vivid Stage to Accompany GRIEF AT HIGH TIDE

Vivid Stage will present the world premiere of Grief at High Tide by Richard Willett from October 5 through 15. During this production, and through the end of November, the work of artist Mansa K. Mussa will be on display in the Oakes Center lobby. The artwork of Mansa K. Mussa is presented in collaboration with the Montclair Art Museum's Yard School of Art, where Mussa is an instructor. 

About the artist:

Mansa K. Mussa is a visual artist, arts educator, curator, and arts consultant.  A native of Newark, New Jersey, he has used the camera to document “the unfolding of human events” in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, and Europe for the past forty-six years. During his career in the arts, he has worked professionally as a photographer, dancer, graphic artist, writer, fabric artist, and iPadologist.  He earned a BA in Media Arts/Television Production from New Jersey City University, and studied visual art there with Professor Emeritus Ben Jones.

Mussa is best known as a documentary photographer, collagist, and mixed media artist. His photographs and collages have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibits, both nationally and internationally. They have also been published in several books, including the landmark Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present.

He is currently an instructor of photography and visual arts at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, the Montclair Art Museum, Arts for Kids, and Arts Horizons. www.mansamussa.com

The instructors at the Yard School of Art are New Jersey-based professional artists who have exhibited their work across the country.  Vivid Stage is proud to showcase the work of local artists and to highlight the talent and vibrancy of the New Jersey arts community. 

The Yard School of Art is part of MAM's Vance Wall Art Education Center, offering classes, camps, and workshops for kids, teens, and adults. To learn more about their educational offerings, visit https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/learn-create.

About the production:

When struggling New York photographer Jennifer Evers tells her husband Christopher that the photo she took of him by his mother’s deathbed—the one he never gave her permission to take and asked her not to show anyone—was secretly entered in a very prestigious competition, it doesn’t go well. To try to investigate the role that art plays in real-life relationships, Jennifer goes out on assignment to California, to create a piece on a Pulitzer Prize−winning photograph, Grief at High Tide, which changed the lives of everyone involved.

Grief at High Tide will appear at Vivid Stage at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit from October 5 through 15. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. A talkback will follow the October 15 matinée performance. Before the October 15 matinée, guests Andrea Stein, author, and Lisa Brown, artist, will speak on the topic: “Truth Be Told: Whose Story Is It?,” which will investigate who has the right to tell private stories, and whether they can harm, heal, or both.

Tickets range from $25 to $42, with special rates for subscribers and groups. For touchless advance ticket purchases, go to our website. Season passes, which offer patrons a 20% discount, are available through October 15. For more information, call 908-514-9654. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available at all performances. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre. For information on any of Vivid Stage's programs, please call 908-514-9654, www.vividstage.org.

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