The Amp

Juneteenth commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people were free - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Though President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it was unenforceable in Confederate strongholds until Union troops took control of those territories. Because Texas had no large-scale Union military presence, slavery continued there relatively untouched.

And so today marks a day when freedom finally reached everyone, another step on the ladder of equal rights that we are still laboring to climb today.

We're so happy to welcome Norwescap to The Amp family! Norwescap New Jersey rented space here last week as they worked on a grant that could benefit the Town of Dover greatly for the next decade and beyond. We're happy to have them as a partner on this exciting journey!

Love art? Then join us this Friday, June 12th, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM for the opening of our 2nd gallery show, "Echoes of Us!" The gallery will remain up through 9 PM on Saturday, June 13th, and can be seen during The Amp's hours of operation: 9 AM to 9 PM. We hope to see you there!

Our Ceramics program keeps rAMP-ing up! Classes for July have begun and our students are having a ton of messy fun!

Click here to find out more about our ceramics classes and workshops: https://theamparts.com/ceramics/

Soccer is the hottest sport of the summer this year and we're going all-in on it at The Amp! Sign up for our Ceramics Soccer Workshops where you'll get to make your very own custom cups and appetizer trays and decorate them to match your favorite team!

Sign up here: https://theamparts.playbookapi.com/programs/more_info/class_package/68883/

Summer Camp at The Amp just got more affordable for families in need! Thanks to a partnership with the incredible team at Child and Family Resources and the State of New Jersey, we're able to offer scholarships to those families to attend Summer Camp.

To find out if you qualify for financial aid, please fill out the application form, found here: https://stevenperez05.wixforms.com/f/7465124313813746962

June is Pride Month and The Amp is hosting a new gallery show to celebrate the talented LGBTQIA+ artists in our community. "Echoes of Us" will be curated by our Director of Ceramics, Kaylee Gernant. Here is her curation statement for the show:

"Throughout human history, q***r voices have been silenced and forced to conform to a world that is oftentimes close minded and hateful. Echoes of Us is a collection of works from q***r artists showing resilience, community, identity, and love!

We want to share the work of our LGBTQIA+ artists this Pride Month with "Echoes of Us," which will celebrate the brilliant artistry and amazing resilience of that community. We hope that these voices, evident in their work, echo far and loud, and that they can be unapologetically themselves."

Join us on June 12th, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM for the opening of Echoes of Us. The gallery will remain up through 9 PM on Saturday, June 13th, and can be seen during The Amp's hours of operation: 9 AM to 9 PM.