Harlem Fine Arts Show Comes To Prudential Center For Gilda’s Club

The Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS), premier showcase of contemporary art of emerging and established artists of the Black Diaspora, will have a reception and exhibit at Prudential Center on January 10, 2013 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm as a fundraiser for Gilda’s Club Northern New Jersey (GCNNJ). The evening program will also feature live entertainment by jazz ensemble Cliff Lee Plus Three, Lee a member of the Spike Lee family, and a special performance by members of the cast of the upcoming Broadway show, Motown: The Musical, the life and legacy of Berry Gordy, the R&B mogul.

Named after the Saturday Nite Live comedienne, Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Gilda’s Club Newark opened its signature Red Door in September 2012, the first club in an inner-city neighborhood and the second club of GCNNJ. Gilda’s Club Hackensack is the recipient of the 2012 "Best of Hackensack" award from the U.S. Commerce Association for its success as a community organization in delivering free programs and services of emotional and social support to anyone who has been touched by cancer. “We are proud to open the door of Gilda’s Club Newark to all residents of Essex and surrounding counties, but especially for communities of color who have the highest incidence, highest mortality and shortest survival rate from cancer than other population groups in America,” says Ruth Dugan, President, GCNNJ Board of Directors. “In the month when we honor a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is an honor to bring the Harlem Fine Arts Show to Newark to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of those whom we will serve and to raise funds to ensure that we can offer free programs and services to all who come through the Red Door at Gilda’s Club Newark located at 208 Lyons Avenue across from Newark Beth Israel Medical Center,” continues Dugan.

For over 15 years, the Harlem Fine Arts Show, a continuation of the tradition of the National Black Fine Arts Show, has been hailed as one of the largest and most prestigious collections of African American contemporary art that has contributed to the global fine arts landscape with a wide array of artistic mastery. “We are delighted to bring the Harlem Fine Arts Show to Newark as a fundraiser to support the important work of Gilda’s Club Northern New Jersey and at the same time provide a platform for the display and sale of contemporary Black art and a unique opportunity to meet and interact with celebrated artists of African descent,” says Dion Clarke, HFAS founder.

Tickets for the event are $50 and can be purchased online from either organization: www.hfas.org or www.gildasclubnnj.org . Checks can be mailed to GCNNJ, 575 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. For more information, contact Maria Meshefsky 201-457-1670 ext. 123 or mariam@gildasclubnnj.org