In Purpose
Sponsored by Monmouth Arts | Opens April 10 | Closing Reception May 1
This spring, Brookdale Community College will host In Purpose, a thought-provoking exhibition at the Center for the Visual Arts Gallery (CVA) with a companion installation at the Caroline Huber Holistic Wellness Center. Sponsored by Monmouth Arts, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners, this dual exhibition explores the powerful intersections of art, design, and personal wellness.
Opening April 10, two exhibitions will celebrate the art of printmaking across Brookdale’s campus. In Purpose, on view at the CVA Gallery, features work by acclaimed printmakers Rhonda Babb and Bill Brookover, alongside members of the American Color Print Society and selected student works. A sister exhibition at the Wellness Center will showcase screen-printed posters created by Brookdale students, inspired by Admiral William H. McRaven’s motivational book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… and Maybe the World. 
In Purpose is a collaboration between Brookdale’s Global Citizenship Project’s Big Read, Professor Barbara Barrella’s Reading Classes, and the Visual Arts Department. Participating students selected quotes from Make Your Bed that spoke to their personal growth and wellness, then translated those insights into original screen-printed designs during a two-day workshop led by Babb and Brookover.
“This project exemplifies the kind of immersive learning that sparks lasting impact,” said Art Faculty Member and CVA Gallery Manager and exhibit curator Elisa Elorza. “By combining reflective reading with hands-on artmaking, students discovered not only a new medium, but also a deeper understanding of their own values and voices.”
The student work will be displayed alongside Babb’s vibrant screen prints—focused on social justice, sustainability, and activism—and Brookover’s architecturally influenced prints exploring geometry, color, and texture.
On April 27, at 7:00 p.m., artist Rhonda Babb will present a lecture on Design & Sustainability. The exhibition will conclude with a closing reception and artist meet-and-greet on May 1, where attendees can receive a commemorative broadsheet giveaway.
The exhibitions also feature an interactive chalk art event to connect both locations and encourage student participation across campus.
“This collaboration has reminded us that creating art is not an insular experience,” said Summer Deaver, Director of the Caroline Huber Holistic Wellness Center. “It’s the interdependence between the individual creating the work, their life experience, and the process of finding one’s voice.”
Student Participants:
Jada Alvarado (General Science, Hazlet); Sofia Beylin (Graphic Design); Ella Blackmore (Public Health, Holmdel); Anya Boiarchuk (English Major, CVA Gallery intern, working on the broadsheet archive project); Gabby Camargo (CVA Gallery student worker and exhibit install); Emma Craven (Fine Arts, Old Bridge); Jeremy Egberts (Fine Arts, Ocean Grove); Laura Garces (Graphic Design, Howell); Kylie Hernandez (Architecture, Old Bridge); Alli Keeling (Interior Design, Old Bridge); Lily Lehotsky (Interior Design, Middletown); Paige Larson (Graphic Design, Long Branch); Alexandra Lopez (Undecided, Freehold); Zakk Merullo (Photography, Freehold); Lexsa Murray (Radiology, Old Bridge); Vivinia Nieves (CVA Gallery student worker and exhibit install); Allyson Panton (CVA Gallery intern/volunteer on the broadsheet archive project); Jaime Queen (Undecided, Wall); Alyssa Shann; Lia Silverstein (Theater, Middletown); Danni Sterman (Fine Arts, South Brunswick); Emma Weatherspool (Design Department Ambassador).