Visual Arts Center of New Jersey Partners with Sally Helmi at the Summit Farmers Market

The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey partners with artist Sally Helmi at the Summit Farmers Market on Sunday, October 6, 8 AM-1 PM. Helmi is an interdisciplinary artist and registered nurse whose medical career informs her work. She will be creating work thematically related to healthcare with visitors to the Art Center's tent throughout the day at the Farmer Market.

"I am looking to engage participants by posing the question, 'What do you want or need protection from?' said Hemi. "I'll be giving visitors a surgical mask as a tangible representation of their response, and will ask them to illustrate their answer on the mask. I will then connect the masks and collage them into a single piece that will explore the concepts of protection, danger, and identity. My goal is to use this to analyze the duality of masks by examining their use as a symbol in the art world verses their purpose as a necessary tool in healthcare."

The Summit Farmers Market takes place every Sunday through November 24, from 8 AM-1 PM. The market is held at Park & Shop Lot #2, at the corner of DeForest Avenue and Maple Street in Summit.

Sally Helmi lives and works in Newark, NJ, where she is a studio resident at Index Art Center. Her work is an extension of her nursing practice and she often mines that background to help create an artistic strategy that assesses, speculates, intervenes, rationalizes, and evaluates. Her work aims to soothe, comfort, and extend softness into the eerie while illustrating the dynamic relationship between sickness and health through textural and visual language.

For 85 years, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has been exclusively dedicated to viewing, making, and learning about contemporary art. Recognized as a leading non-profit arts organization, the Art Center's renowned Studio School, acclaimed exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives serve thousands of youth, families, seniors, and people with special needs every year.

The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is located at 68 Elm Street in Summit, NJ. Adult and children's group tours are available throughout the year. Gallery hours: Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 10 AM-5 PM; Thursday, 10 AM-8 PM; and Saturday & Sunday, 11 AM-4 PM. Please call 908.273.9121 to confirm holiday hours. Visit artcenternj.org for more information.

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