Edison Arts Society Story

    The idea of initiating an Arts Society in Edison came from  Mayor George A. Spadoro. His wife,  Catherine Spadoro, herself an actress and avid Arts enthusiast, took a leadership role by approaching community members she knew might be interested in developing a realistic Society. Bi-monthly meetings began in February 1998 attended by people who represented eight identified Art disciplines: Theater, Dance, Music, Visual Arts, Literature, Graphic Arts, Film & Video, and Landscaping Design/Architecture/Interior Design. Mrs. Spadoro was the Chairwoman of this endeavor from the outset of its inception.

      The eight-committee chairs next approached people they knew and encouraged them to become involved so that Edison artists could be identified, encouraged and recognized. Two highly successful Arts Summits followed, and on September 10, 1998, the Edison Arts Society was founded as a non-profit organization. Mayor Spadoro also presented the Society with its first home on 1729 Woodland Avenue in Edison.

      After a Board of Trustees was established and a full time salaried Executive Director was hired, several programs were initiated by the Edison Arts Society within two years. For the youth came the establishment of a middle school “One Acts” theater program, an annual public and private High School Art Competition, holiday dance extravaganza, televised poetry readings, and outreach workshops in poetry, drama and art. The formation of the sixty-piece professional Edison Symphony Orchestra featuring three concerts per season was an enormously successful undertaking. Also developed was the “Artist of the Month” program, “The Arts in Edison”, a live monthly television show on Edison Township cable with hostess Catherine Spadoro, and the publication of an annual poetry/prose booklet titled the Edison Literary Review. A yearly dinner dance “Artists by Candlelight” was initiated to help fund programming and honor the twelve chosen “Artists of the Month” from the previous year.

      To date, the majority of these educational outreach and artistic programs continue to flourish, as the Edison Arts Society expands its horizons. We now have our own permanent Art Gallery at the Sheraton Edison Hotel at Raritan Center, which features two exhibits per year and lavish receptions for the artists and public.  We also sponsor an extremely well-received community event, “The Gardens of the Garden State”, which invites gardeners, photographers and artists from New Jersey to unite together in a springtime juried exhibit at Menlo Park Mall. Currently, we are exploring the logistics of establishing a high quality middle school theatre troupe and a young artist instrumental competition.

      As the Edison Arts Society continues to grow by leaps and bounds, we find that the main restriction to its explosive growth is not the community’s lack of interest and support, but its continual need for constant funding.