Ani Art Academy, as seen before a facade makeover in April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release
Previously limited to military veterans, Red Bank’s tuition-free Ani Art Academy is now open to all adults, and has scholarships available to beginner artists.
Korean war vet George Weiss of Sea Bright at Ani Art Academy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Returning home after a year’s service in Vietnam, Jim Black remembers landing on American soil after midnight. There was no welcoming committee, no formal expression of gratitude. U.S. authorities made sure the repatriations took place under cover of darkness, in part to shield soldiers from war protesters, he said.
It left Black and others other veterans feeling slighted, he said. It wasn’t that he and his fellow soldiers wanted a parade, but “just don’t hate me,” he said, choking up a bit.
That’s why a free art school for military veterans in Red Bank means so much to him: it makes him and other vets feel “welcomed” at last, he told redbankgreen Friday.
Chris Carbone Jr. recently opened a menswear shop at 24 Monmouth Street that blends hip-hop, skating and sports influences. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn heralds the arrival of a new men’s clothing store in downtown Red Bank; plans for a women’s clothing boutique, also downtown; and another women’s boutique just over the town line in Shrewsbury.
Also spotlighted: a highly unusual new art school that’s tuition-free and for veterans only. More →