April 24, 2025

Hi, Readers!

Welcome back to our monthly Newsletter! NJ Folklife at Perkins (formerly Perkins Folklife Center) is celebrating the “art of everyday life” through our partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the five Folklife Centers of New Jersey. Our mission remains the same: to shine a light on folk artists and tradition bearers who keep our communities vibrant, and to share untold or overlooked South Jersey stories. 

South Jersey Artscapes Guided Tour: Spring 2025

Date: Sunday, May 4th, 2025

Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Meet Up Location: Perkins Center for the Arts -

30 Irvin Ave, Collingswood, NJ

Special Highlight

This month, we meet Ralph Hunter, the energetic 87-year-old founder of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey (AAHMSNJ). This remarkable Museum in Newtonville is a much-anticipated stop on the South Jersey Artscapes tour coming up on May 4. Participants will get a peek at the current exhibition, “Jersey Girls” and hear stories from Hunter’s incredible 60-year career as a collector and curator criss-crossing the country in search of hidden artifacts and stories illuminating Black life in Atlantic City and beyond. Come “Ride with Ralph” on May 4, or just click here to read more of his story. 

South Jersey Artscapes is a co-sponsored project of the Perkins Folklife Center and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts with support from the South Jersey Cultural Alliance.

About NJ Folklife at Perkins Center

The mission of the NJ Folklife at Perkins is to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Southern Jersey region by promoting programming, folklife exhibitions, and opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with folklife–the things we make and do that make us who we are. To learn more about our work, visit www.perkinsarts/folklife