About the Western Monmouth Gallery

The Western Monmouth Campus Art Gallery was conceived in late 2005 at a time when Brookdale was approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to establish its first branch campus in Freehold. The Council on Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education recognize Middle States as one of several regional accreditation authorities. A branch campus offers the opportunity for students to earn full degrees and to obtain student services on-site.  At that time, increasing awareness of the branch campus was a high priority.  The director met with members of the business community and reached out to art faculty to test the idea of an art gallery.  Coupled with insufficient public venues in western Monmouth County for artistic displays, the awareness campaign for the new Western Monmouth Branch Campus began.    

Not having experience with gallery start-ups but quite familiar with business start-ups, the director approached the establishment of the gallery as a evolving project.  To work through easily-forgiven first-time mistakes by gaining the assistance of volunteers, the director’s husband and another local artist formed the first show.  Much was learned. Gaining support from the College’s marketing department and the Greater Media news organization, a full-page article featured the February 2006 inaugural show.  This launched the gallery into the general public and created awareness of the Branch Campus in Freehold.   The next two shows were established serendipitously.  Through clubs and organizations in the community, word-of mouth spread quickly and the gallery, inside of three months, was booked for three years.  Four months before the opening, the director saw value in Lincroft connections and sought advice from the CVA Gallery director and Art Division Chair.  Through that relationship, other art faculty saw the opportunity for student exhibitions and two shows featured students in Professor Geanna Merola’s photography classes.  What a great opportunity to build student portfolios for transfer to a four-year institution or for career opportunities.

When Brookdale Art Professor Marie Maber was scheduled for her May 2007 exhibit, Professor Ed Stein volunteered to build a website for the gallery and Professor Lori Uffer offered to engage her desktop-publishing students in developing a brochure.  This website built the credibility of the campus and its gallery as a destination venue for the region and a cultural place for Brookdale students.  The brochure-design competition for the “winning” brochure design gave students real-world experience in vying for business.

With rotating monthly exhibits, faculty from English, Art Appreciation, History, Psychology, etc., bring their classes through the gallery and make a connection to the curriculum.  Community members meet students at monthly exhibitions and inspire them in their personal development. 

Many of the exhibitors are business people from the area.  In some cases, they are professional artists, gallery owners, printing company owners, doctors, nurses, surgeons, educators, financial services professionals, etc.  In other cases, they are entrepreneurs or professionals in the fields of advertising, communications, broadcasting, media, and photography.  Many are former Brookdale students.

The gallery, beyond supporting the art community, serves to market the college to the community.  The gallery creates branch campus awareness, brings people to the campus, shares local talent and expertise, connects people within the community, and enhances the liberal education degree curriculum.  As a “business” venture, the gallery can help business and marketing students learn how to set up a successful operation.  As a “public” venture, it invites alumni, prospects, and current students to explore the value of artistic expression.

Currently, the operation is organized by the director and her office assistant. With exhibits booked through 2010, there is no active search for exhibitors until 2009.  The director and her assistant confirm exhibits and act as a conduit for materials to College Relations.  Confirmations take place every six months.  College Relations handles the poster and publicity.  The artists hang (and take down) their exhibits as well as distribute the posters.  The artists fund the refreshments at the public “Meet the Artist” reception.  Student Life funds the monthly student receptions to meet the artists.  The faculty member who established the website maintains it as needed.  The key to successful implementation each month is advance planning and distribution of materials so that the artists can set up the exhibit.  Depending on the theme and the artist(s), publicity levels vary.  The 9/11 exhibit garnered news media attention with two channels featuring stories (News12 NJ and NJN) and several newspapers publishing articles.  Other times, a small PR pickup occurs in local papers.  To date, over a thousand people have been through the gallery.  Email addresses are collected in logs and are sent periodically to keep interested attendees informed of new exhibits.

As the gallery continues to evolve, ideas are most welcome on keeping it a vibrant part of Brookdale’s Western Monmouth Branch Campus at Freehold, New Jersey.  Our gratitude goes to all of the artists, colleagues, and volunteers for their on-going support of this worthwhile endeavor.

Helen Z. Antholis, Director
Ansa Thomas, Office Assistant
September 2007