Newark, East Orange Seniors Earn Awards At Essex County Art Show

NEWARK, NJ — Local artists from Newark and East Orange recently captured awards in the county’s annual senior citizen art show.

A total of 37 people received awards in the 2025 Essex County Senior Citizens Juried Art Show.

The list includes Karen Hillard Johnson of Newark, who won second place in the non-professional mixed media category with “Autumn Rhythm.”

Winners also included Glendora Simonson of East Orange, who won first place in the professional craft category with “Leg Pommes, Poires et Fleurs.”

The annual contest is open to all professional and non-professional artists ages 60 and older. Artwork is judged on originality, composition, style, quality and creativity. Judging was done by Heather Carter, founder of Carter Fine Art Services.

Seniors whose artwork was awarded first place are automatically entered into the NJ Senior Citizens Art Show.

The winning artists were recognized during an awards ceremony on Sept. 12 in the Robert O’Toole Community Center in Cedar Grove Park.

“Essex County has a thriving fine arts community and our Senior Art Show enables our older residents, both professionals and non-professionals, to display their original creations where the public can see them,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“This is an excellent event for us to promote the arts and inspire our residents to use their talents,” he added.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.