Committed to Local Art at the Pierro Gallery

Though the school year is over, and the heat wave is behind us, the South Orange art scene remains in session and on fire. The current Pierro Gallery show, "Committee Committed" runs through July 18, 2010, the final item on Judy Wukitsch's 16-year agenda.

Wukitsch, 59, stepped down from her position as South Orange's Assistant Director for Recreation and  Cultural Affairs on July 1, 2010."So many memories, so many historical events," recalled Wukitsch of her tenure.

In the early 1990's Wukitsch had three young children.  She and her husband, Lennie Pierro, were artists and art educators.  Naturally it was important to them that art to be a part of their childrens' lives.   "Having no art classes in South Orange at the time, I would schlep my kids to Montclair," said Wukitsch.

One day, while bringing her kids to the Baird Recreation Center, Wukitsch volunteered to teach art classes to kids in what was then known as the Parks and Recreation Department.   In 1994, Wukitsch was offered a full-time position as Assistant Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.  Fundraising is the life-blood of most not-for-profit work and since there was no other "development" person, Wukitsch's grant-writing and fundraising abilities became an essential part of her job description.

Early on, the dilapidated room on the second floor of the Baird Center was identified as a possible gallery and music space and with a generous donation of $5000.00, the volunteers went to work to create the gallery. 

 The gallery's mission was to offer easily accessible, user-friendly, arts programming to the community.   Wukitsch and her husband and gallery co-founder sought honest, thought-provoking artists and musicians. The first exhibit featured abstract painter Jo Jochnowitz, who created a series of charcoal drawings of the Holocaust.  This appealed so strongly to the social and political values of the community that 800 guests attended that first opening. The gallery has hosted seasonal shows ever since. 

"Chosen by committee, the artists are mostly regional," explains Wukitsch.  "This area has an abundance of talented artists and musicians who work in New York, particularly since the addition of the Mid-Town Direct train service." Another feather in Wukitsch's cap is the Giants of Jazz series, which The New York Times proclaimed  New Jersey's premier jazz festival.

In 1998 Wukitsch and her husband attended an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.  The exhibition featured internationally-recognized minimalist sculptor Tony Smith.  There they discovered Tony Smith was born and raised in South Orange.  The couple set to work to bring a Tony Smith sculpture to South Orange. 

When Pierro died ago at 61 in 2002,  Village Trustees re-named the gallery in honor of the impact Lennie Pierro had on the arts of South Orange.  Wukitsch established the Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation(LPMAF) which paved the way for the 2009 installation of "Tau" in Meadowland Park.

On leafless winter days Wukitsch could see the massive black "Tau" from her office window at The Baird.  She described how middle school and high schools have added Tony Smith as part of their arts curriculum, including an eighth grade poetry unit.  Wukitsch noted that, "at any given time of day, depending how the light and reflection hits the sculpture it will look completely different from hour to hour."

 "I love when I see kids come off the soccer field and take a quick look through the gallery or a mom and her three-year-old taking a few minutes to bask in fine art after their preschool class," said Wukitsch. "Thus the amalgam of cultural experiences offered through the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department."

Wukitsch's youngest child just graduated from college.  Feeling it is time to make a change in her own life, Wukitsch handed in her resignation.  She does not quite know what is next for herself professionally, though she will continue to preside over the LPMAF . "I've wanted to get some lighting on "Tau,' " she said.  

As part of the Pierro Gallery by-laws, the committee members are not allowed to submit their own work to be reviewed. Wukitsch's final exhibit before clearing off her desk is a group show entitled:  "Committee Committed," where the committee members can display their work. The show runs through July 18, 2010 in the Pierro Gallery.