'A Day in the Life of West Orange' Exhibit Opens Sunday

Seventeen area last September with one goal — to take photographs that captured the township’s diverse population, and reflect its daily community activities in the workplace, at school, business, recreational facilities and houses of worship.

The project, organized by West Orange Arts Council Vice Chair Mansa K. Mussa, will be on display as part of the exhibit, at the Leon & Toby Cooperman Jewish Community Center beginning on March 11.

“I didn’t know much about West Orange when I moved here seven years ago,” Mussa said in a release. “I found a vibrant community with a jazz club, a museum, a great library and a functioning arts organization.”

Mussa thought the project “would be a great gift to the township” and would also draw attention to the Arts Council’s need to “find a facility where it can offer classes and workshops to the community.”

Although some of the photos were staged earlier, some of the best photos were candid images of township residents working at food pantries and biking in the South Mountain reservation.

“What I found out, working on the project, was how much happens in such a small area over the course of a day,” said photographer Mayer Chalom, a junior at West Orange High School. “It was amazing to just walk down Main Street and see the variety of people carry on their daily lives from an outsider’s perspective.”

Among the photographers participating in the project were Terry Boddie, Mayer Chalom, Bill Cofone, Tony Cordoza, Nancy Heins-Glaser, George Kopp and Annette Kushen.

Other photographers included Nathea Lee, John Mitrano, Mary Ellen Morrow, Mansa K. Mussa, Amelia Panico, Yves Norton Pierre, Marian Rubin, Heidi Sussman, Joya Angola Thompson and Doug Zacker.

The West Orange Arts Council is planning additional satellite exhibits at various township locations as well as programs for schools and local organizations. It also expects to publish a book about the project.

For more information, contact the West Orange Arts Council at (973) 324-9100, woartscouncil.org or wophotoproject.com.

[Editor's note: This story first published Feb. 21]