We appreciate your year-end support of the Trenton Museum Society. Thank you!
Dear Friends,
Coming to the end of another successful year, we reflect on the vital role of you, our supporters. Through a whirlwind 2023, we looked back with appreciation on our first 50 years while simultaneously looking toward new ways to celebrate art and artists, explore Trenton history, and engage meaningfully with our community. Your participation strengthened the Trenton Museum Society’s role as a vital cultural resource and ensured the Trenton City Museum continued to be a welcoming gathering space.
Celebrating Art: Trustees Collecting kicked off our 2023 art programming with a heartfelt and eclectic exhibition of works collected by TMS Trustees. Fast Forward to 40 showcased Ellarslie Open Purchase Awards from past years along with a timeline of the annual exhibition’s history. The Ellarslie Open, curated by Reggie Browne, reached its milestone 40th year with another exciting show. TAWA at 45 celebrated the Trenton Artists Workshop Association with a 90-piece exhibition. How fitting that NEXT: Reimagining the Future through Art will usher us into 2024 with new media and forward-looking artwork!
Exploring History: The TMS Collections Committee worked diligently to process and document acquisitions and highlight samplings in the revolving Recent Acquisitions display. A special exhibit offered a fascinating look at the History of Ellarslie Mansion. History buffs revisited Trenton’s Junior No. 1 with a talk by Karl Flesch and brushed up on their presidential history with guest speaker Louis Picone. In the Beginning pulls together, in the museum and online, a broad mix of Trenton objects that started the permanent collection in 1973. The Fruits of Stangl and Trenton’s Christmas Past, featuring delightful Trenton-made Horsman Dolls and a Boehm porcelain nativity scene, are among the many curio case exhibits lining our upper level’s “history hallway”.
Welcoming Community: Freedom Fridays draws poetry and spoken word enthusiasts to its open mic each month. Throughout 2023 attendees celebrated Black history through storytelling, gathered for a Tom Chiola Quartet concert, a Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea, Sundaes on the Veranda, and our 50th Anniversary Gala, and shopped at the Annual Holiday Boutique. Youth education programs brought families together for workshops on traditional African mask making, women’s history collages, handmade picture frames for a spring family photo shoot, and holiday wreaths. Saturdays in July featured a different teaching artist each week, and we collaborated with visiting artist Kenneth Lewis for a puppet workshop.
To keep museum programming and gatherings in 2024 as inventive, enlightening, and welcoming as ever, we ask for your generous support with a year-end donation to the Trenton Museum Society. With gratitude for all you do to advance the mission of the Trenton Museum Society, we wish you and yours a warm holiday season and a happy New Year!
The Trenton Museum Society is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. It is the non-profit support group for the Trenton City Museum, providing exhibits, programming, and staff to operate the museum. To make a donation, click below or mail your contribution. We value your support.
Checks may be made payable to Trenton Museum Society and mailed to Trenton Museum Society
P. O. Box 1034
Trenton, New Jersey 08606
Please include your contact information with your check.
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