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This feature originally appeared on the News12 New Jersey on June 4, 2020.
A longtime Jersey City community art event will be held virtually this year to comply with social distancing guidelines.
This Friday art galleries, businesses and restaurants would normally be hosting arts events as part of the JC Fridays initiative. But this year the events will take place over Zoom and will celebrate the work of artists with disabilities.
Singer-songwriter James Ian is among the more than 40 artists featured in the JC Fridays event. He says that he is happy that the event is taking place online.
“I can definitely interact and connect with more people because it is virtual,” he says.
Ian has a form of spinal muscular atrophy. He says that he doesn’t want his condition to limit him musically. “We need the opportunities to play and perform and to share our love and joy for music,” he says.
JC Fridays is traditionally an art crawl through Jersey City neighborhoods, held quarterly. It was started more than a decade ago and is presented by Art House Productions. The organization says that having it on Zoom could increase participation by disabled artists “In some ways, it is more accessible to the people with disabilities, because they can watch and participate from the comfort of their own home,” says executive director Meredith Burns.
JC Fridays is free and will run from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. this Friday. More details can be found on the event’s website.