"Art allows you to express things that you might not want to say otherwise."

This Week's Episode

This week on State of the Arts...

Clifford Ward, whose Afrofuturist visions reclaim and reinterpret the past, reflects on a lifetime of making art.

A continuation of our month-long celebration of poetry: our feature on CavanKerry Press, a small publisher of beautiful editions of poetry and creative non-fiction that explore the emotional and psychological landscapes of everyday life.

And, legendary singer, songwriter, and guitarist Richard Thompson plays a rare solo show at the Tabernacle, a historic space that’s become an intimate music venue cherished by performers and audiences alike.

NJ PBS

Sat, 4/18 @ 7:30 pm

Sun, 4/19 @ 9:30 am

WNET Thirteen

Sun, 4/19 @ 11:30 am

ALL ARTS

Mon, 4/20 @ 10:30 am & 3:30 pm

Wed, 4/22 @ 10 am & 3 pm

Find out where (and how) to watch!

National Poetry Month

This month, we're highlighting voices of women poets from the State of the Arts library.

“I prove a theorem and the house expands…” In this 1997 video from the State of the Arts archives, Rita Dove reads her poem “Geometry,” then sits in conversation with host Amber Edwards. The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and national Poet Laureate (1993-1995) discusses her career and her writing process, from poetry to playwriting. Watch here.

On the Blog

“I’ve embraced my skin, my melanin, my destiny.” – Clifford Ward

Clifford Ward, included on this week's episode and whose artwork Animism is pictured above, was also featured on the State of the Arts blog. Read here.

Happening Now

An artwork by Isabelle Duverger is included in the slate of 2026 Digital Artists at Newark Liberty Terminal A, organized by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and Munich Airport NJ LLC. The group of artworks share a common theme, focusing on the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution

Our stories featuring work by Isabelle Duverger: Falling Sky, The Data Forest.

Join Passage Theatre Company for their 2026 Gala: "Freedom Has No Rehearsal" at the Trenton War Memorial on April 25! See here for more info and tickets to support our capital city's only professional theater.

Our related stories: The OK Trenton Project, Paradise, This Trenton Life.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is back at NJPAC with performances May 8-10! See here for tickets and more info.

Our related story: Alvin Ailey.

The Punch Bros, including banjo player Noam Pikelny, will play at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on May 14! Tickets and more info available here.

Our related story: Banjo Masters, including Noam Pikelny.

Highlights

As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the Princeton Battlefield Society demonstrates that battle reenactments are collaborative works of art. With the historic battlefield as their stage, they bring the Battle of Princeton to life, revealing how art continues to keep history alive.

Our 2026 story: The Art of Reenactment.

Words and Music by Jerry Herman, a ninety-minute film by Amber Edwards, chronicles Jerry Herman's rise from witty off-Broadway revues during the 1950s, to his first Broadway triumphs in the 1960s (Milk and Honey, Hello Dolly, Mame) through the 1970s (Dear World, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour) to his triumphant smash hit in 1983, La Cage aux Folles, which also made social and political history.

Our 2007 documentary: Words and Music by Jerry Herman.