By Raymond Tyler
On Sunday afternoon, March 24, women and men from across South Jersey, and parts of New York and Philadelphia, came out to celebrate the ladies in the arts from South Jersey.
This is the third year that The Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University has been the host venue and lead sponsor for The Ladies In The Arts Awards, a yearly event curated by Atlantic City Arts Commissioner, Raymond Tyler (and Black Art Matters curator).
This year’s honorees included organizations, a podcast, and women that are arts advocates, women that have started youth programs, do spoken word, visual artists, recording artists and radio personalities.
The list of Ladies In The Arts winners includes: Patrice Hawthorne, Annette Smith/Brown Sugar, Joyce Hagen, Shoanne Seijas, April Williams, Nettie Long poetry, Pam Fields, and Loreal Vintage, The Atlantic City Chapter of The Links, The Sip and Discuss Podcast, Anne Glapion, and The 40 Plus Double Dutch Club!
Highlights of this year’s Ladies In The Arts Award included recording artist April “Chocolate Gurl” Williams opening the show with a soulful rendition of “So High.”
Also during the opening of the program, former Ladies In The Arts award winner Bashira Khan welcomed everyone and brought greetings from her group, The Women’s Community Consulting Group.
One of the many moving and emotional moments of The Ladies In The Arts Awards 2024 was when Nynell Langford discussed the history of many of Atlantic City’s greatest women such as Rosalind Cash and Soundra E. Usry-Hollingsworth.
Nynell Langford wrapped up her discussion by sharing the names of 25 women whose sacrifice to the City of Atlantic City still lives on.
During the awards show, special guest presenter Julie Hain , the director of The South Jersey Cultural Alliance, gave a heartfelt speech, explaining why Shoanne Seijas is so important to the arts community of South Jersey.
There were many special guests in the audience including Ben Rose from the department of tourism for the City of Wildwood. Also in the audience was curator of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey Ralph Hunter. Anne Roseberg, former member of The Atlantic City Arts Commission, also attended to support The Ladies In The Arts.
The 2024 Ladies In The Arts Awards also delighted attendees with a surprise appearance and greeting from Judy Ward the Mayor of Pleasantville.
The one performance that got everyone up and moving was the great energy of The 40+ Double Dutch Club, South Jersey Chapter. The group of 13 women assembled to demonstrate their mastery of dance, step, cheer and school yard athletics.
The performance of The 40+ Double Dutch Club turned The Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University into a playground for the day and reminded every one of their favorite games.
After the performance of The 40+ Double Dutch Club, their captain, Vernell Prince, accepted their award from AtlantiCare’s Vincent Kirkland.
Throughout the awards show, many of the honorees discussed how their hard work, their community of women, the inspiration of mentors, and God led them to success.
Joyce Hagen discussed her legacy. Patrice Hawthorne shared her amazing voice as she accepted her award and even got host Raymond Tyler to sing.
Michelle Moseley and Khalidah Hunter of “The Sip and Discuss Podcast,” talked about the power of healing through connecting with people via a microphone. The president of The Links, Atlantic City Chapter discussed the history of the organization, where The Links is today and where the organization is heading in the future.
Along with the 12 awards given for The Ladies In The Arts, two additional awards were presented for Outstanding Ladies in Leadership.
The first Outstanding Ladies In Leadership Award went to Shermaine Gunter-Gary (she was not present) for her years of dedication. The second award for the Outstanding Ladies In Leadership Award went to Stephenine Dixon. Dixon moved many in the crowd as they applauded her message to “know your value.” Dixon also inspired many by explaining the sacrifices she’s made to represent Atlantic City and to fight for the rights of all people.
The closing remarks came from The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, South Jersey Chapter, represented by their public relations officer, Christine Prosser.
The event ended with people dancing in their chairs and standing up as April Williams closed the show with the soul bop classic song, “Don’t Play That Song For Me.”
Although there were a total of 14 awards given out on Sunday, the entire community won at The 2024 Ladies In The Arts Awards.
