Step into a world of creativity, movement and shared ideas at Express Yourself!, a vibrant day of arts, culture and creative exploration taking place on Saturday, May 9, in partnership with the Montclair Literary Festival. Open to all, this celebration invites everyone to explore creative expression in many forms.

Join us for hands-on workshops and interactive experiences on Saturday, May 9, 2026. All events are open to all and free, but registration is required. Sign up for a single workshop or for the whole day!

Register to Attend

Acting Out: Improv Group Style
9 -10:15 a.m., Life Hall room 1200
Crowd Source Acting is about using improvisation to act in the moment. Participants will be guided in an improvisational game that allows them to experience dropping into a roll and having the inspiration of those around them to achieve a common goal. That goal could be silly, serious, or absurd. Join us for a round or two of a game called Family Portraits, guided by Theatre department practitioners.

A Moving Experience For All
10:30-11:45 a.m., Life Hall 1210
This session will be a dance class for beginners, emphasizing freedom of movement and some basic dance moves.

Got Art? Take This Workshop
12:00-1:15 p.m., Calcia Hall 245
Participants will explore a visual arts technique such as collage, clay sculpting, or mixed media and create a unique work. Guided by an artist educator, attendees will learn simple methods and experiment with materials during the session.

Snap Snap: Taking Just the Right Picture
1:30-2:45 p.m., Feliciano School of Business Lawn
This digital photography workshop will start with a presentation on the powerful choices available for capturing and documenting the world with your camera. Each participant will be given directions for taking a photograph from a specific location on campus. Jenelle Covino, Adjunct Professor of Art and Design, will guide participants to utilize basic photo retouching principles to bring each digital photograph to life. You can bring your digital camera or use your cell phone to photograph for this workshop. This workshop is suitable for all ages and all experience levels of photography.

Drumming Up a Crowd, the West African Way
3:00-4:15 p.m.; Feliciano School of Business Lawn
The Montclair State University West African Drumming and Dance Ensemble will perform and engage everyone to participate in traditional West African recreational music. We play a strong weave of polyrhythms on traditional drums, bells and rattles, and those in attendance will drum with us, sing with us in call and response in a West African language, and dance traditional movements with us, directed by calls from the lead drum.

Let’s Get Physical: Writing Poetry about Memory and the Body
4:30-5:45 p.m. Feliciano School of Business Room 140
In this generative poetry workshop, we will begin by bringing our memories to life on the page. We will then expand to writing about embodied experiences. Participants will leave this workshop having written two new poems and having received feedback on one of the poems. They will also leave with a few additional tools in their writers’ toolbox.

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Bicentennial Summer Concert Series Bloomfield Federation of Music American Salute – Honoring Our Men & Women in Uniform

Bicentennial Summer Concert Series Bloomfield Federation of Music American Salute – Honoring Our Men & Women in Uniform

Bloomfield Youth Band performs “Hands Across the Sea”

Bloomfield Youth Band performs “Hands Across the Sea”

Meet A Dinosaur at the Bloomfield Library

Meet A Dinosaur at the Bloomfield Library

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - CONTAGION

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - CONTAGION

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - BRIGADOON

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - BRIGADOON

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - J. EDGAR

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - J. EDGAR

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - IRON LADY

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - IRON LADY

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - ROAD TO PERDITION

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - ROAD TO PERDITION

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - WAR HORSE

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - WAR HORSE

The Masterwork Chorus Summer Sings!

The Masterwork Chorus Summer Sings!

A JERSEY VOICE: Sinatra to Springsteen...and Everyone in Between

A JERSEY VOICE: Sinatra to Springsteen...and Everyone in Between

ThrillerFest VII

ThrillerFest VII

EXHIBIT: STANLEY MELTZOFF – OCEANS AND OTHER WORLDS

EXHIBIT: STANLEY MELTZOFF – OCEANS AND OTHER WORLDS

The Photography of Charles Warren Eaton

The Photography of Charles Warren Eaton

IMAGINE! Sharron Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts June Scholarship Concert

IMAGINE! Sharron Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts June Scholarship Concert

Auction Items on View at Nye and Company

Auction Items on View at Nye and Company

Matt Maher in Concert

Matt Maher in Concert

Auditions - The Wedding Singer

Auditions - The Wedding Singer

" POLICE APPRECIATION DAY " EVERY THURSDAY - ALL POLICE OFFICERS WILL GET ANY HAIRCUT FOR $14.00 ~ JUST SHOW US YOUR POLICE BADGE

" POLICE APPRECIATION DAY " EVERY THURSDAY - ALL POLICE OFFICERS WILL GET ANY HAIRCUT FOR $14.00 ~ JUST SHOW US YOUR POLICE BADGE

Nutty By Nature - Improv Comedy

Nutty By Nature - Improv Comedy

Hidden Treasures…A Gentleman’s Gala

Hidden Treasures…A Gentleman’s Gala

Town Paints "Art in the Park"

Town Paints "Art in the Park"

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - COWBOYS & ALIENS

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - COWBOYS & ALIENS

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - SARAH’S KEY

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - SARAH’S KEY

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - CASANOVA’S BIG NIGHT

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - CASANOVA’S BIG NIGHT

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies - THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - MOTHER

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - MOTHER

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - BOEING BOEING

Monday Afternoon at the Movies - BOEING BOEING

Springtime Craft - Paper Flowers

Springtime Craft - Paper Flowers

DER FEHLER: YOU WRITE IT IN YOUR HANDS

DER FEHLER: YOU WRITE IT IN YOUR HANDS

STATE OF EXPLANATION

STATE OF EXPLANATION

Oakeside Cultural Center TRICKY TRAY

Oakeside Cultural Center TRICKY TRAY

FLAT DADDY screening at the Montclair Film Festival

FLAT DADDY screening at the Montclair Film Festival

We Live, We Love, We Sing - Concert by the Mel-O-Chords

We Live, We Love, We Sing - Concert by the Mel-O-Chords

We Live, We Love, We Sing - Concert by the Mel-O-Chords

We Live, We Love, We Sing - Concert by the Mel-O-Chords

Auction Items on View at Nye and Company

Auction Items on View at Nye and Company

VDAY 2012: The Vagina Monologues