Bloomfield, Glen Ridge Seniors Earn Awards At Essex County Art Show

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Several artists from Bloomfield and Glen Ridge 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 Judyann Affronti of Glen Ridge, who won second place in the professional mixed media category with “Free Postage,” as well as multiple Bloomfield residents:

• Kathy Clemente won first place in the professional acrylic category with “Floofy.”
• Robert Galvin won second place in the non-professional oil category with “Garden in August.”
• Roberto Pagan won first place in the non-professional works on paper category with “Anya.”
• Joan Park won first place in the professional pastels category with “Dimensions.”

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.

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