Parisa Burton 
Summer is around the corner, and with warmer weather comes new opportunities to showcase community art and for young artists to explore creative expression. In Asbury Park, initiatives like the installation of five artist-designed benches in Sunset Lake Park, along with youth arts programming are helping bring that vision to life. Read on to learn more about how these artistic efforts are shaping the role of art in Asbury Park this summer.
Sunset Lake Park Art Benches
The Art Bench initiative was selected through Asbury Park’s first Participatory Budgeting cycle, which allowed residents age 14 and older to vote on how to allocate $250,000 in capital funding for community improvements. Nearly 900 votes were cast through mail, drop-off, and online submissions, with participants choosing among 14 proposed projects aimed at enhancing public spaces across the city, according to a press release.
The creation of artist-designed park benches received the most votes, with 229, making it the winning project. Playground improvements at Sunset Lake Park followed closely in second place with 200 votes. City officials noted that once final costs are confirmed for the benches, additional participating projects may still be funded as part of the initiative.
The Art Bench project was proposed by Wendi Glassman on behalf of the Sunset Lake Commission. Sunset Lake Park, Asbury Park’s largest park, has a master plan focused on increased park activation through seating and public art. Wendi based the idea on a similar program in Woodlands, Texas, envisioning functional public art that serves as seating and helps beautify the space.
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“My hope is that this is just the beginning of including functional public art in Sunset Lake Park,” Wendi said via a press release.
Asbury Park also funded the second-highest voted project from the Participatory Budgeting cycle, a playground improvement installed last fall that helped guide bench placement. Two of the five benches will be located near the play area.
The selected artists are Jessica Bell, Matt Burney, Michael “Porkchop” LaVallee, Colin Selig, and Lyz Ward. Installation of the benches by the Department of Public Works (DPW) took place the week of April 20, with locations distributed throughout the park.
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Youth Arts Programming
The Teen Arts New Jersey (TANJ) Youth Arts Initiative provides students and families with literary, visual, and performing arts opportunities through after-school and summer programming. According to a press release, TANJ recently received a grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) under Phase II of the Activation, Revitalization, and Transformation (A.R.T.) program, which supports nonprofit organizations focused on public art installations and arts-based community initiatives. TANJ was selected among 39 arts and culture organizations to receive funding under the A.R.T. Phase II Program.
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TANJ is partnering with organizations and businesses across Asbury Park to activate local spaces and strengthen the creative economy through visual arts classes, writing workshops, open mic nights, and other pop-ups. The initiative launched on March 6 and will run through September, concluding with a two-day festival in October 2026.
“This community forward program will strengthen our footprint in Monmouth County and help us to promote long-term growth with our partners in Asbury Park, as we continue our mission to bridge creativity and opportunity in arts education,” TANJ Executive Director Kevin Ciak told New Jersey Stage.
View upcoming TANJ pop-ups here.
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