Highlands Art Exhibit 2025

Proceeds  support the NJ Highlands Coalition's mission to help preserve the  natural and cultural resources of this remarkable region of our State  that supplies clean drinking water to over 6.2 million people. 

The  artists who are inspired by the natural beauty of the Highlands region  of NJ, NY, PA & CT are advocates for protecting the Highlands  natural and cultural resources as much as we who strive for protective  policies; beauty is worth fighting for to protect. The landscapes of the  Highlands, the great biodiversity of plants and animals, the broken,  half-hidden remnants of the early industrial age that has since returned  to forest, the granite outcrops and strewn, truck-sized boulders  deposited by the glaciers, the cold and deep glacial lakes and ancient  rivers, the narrow valleys crossed by patinated iron truss bridges, the  undulating farm fields and wildflower meadows, the “asunals”, the  ceremonial rocks placed by the Lenape as wayfinders and to carry the  prayers of successive generations — these are the same vistas and scenes  that inspired an entire movement in art. The artists of our Juried Art  Show and Entr’Exhibits are the inheritors of the masterful Hudson River  School. We are so pleased and honored to host their inspired works.  Every show is a celebration of their creativity.

"Why does an environmental advocacy organization host an annual art exhibit?" Asked Elliott Ruga, Policy and Communications Director at the NJ Highlands Coalition. "Because the Highlands Region is incredibly beautiful, it has a diversity of landscape types: from small river towns along the Delaware River; rolling farm fields and limestone cottages in the Musconetcong, Pohatcong and Lopatcong river valleys; dozens of glacial lakes and lake communities and an improbable, 340 square-mile mature, nearly contiguous forest, that is the least fragmented and most species diverse in New Jersey. Yes, the Highlands is worth protecting as a source of clean water for 6.2 million New Jersey residents, but artists are the advocates for protecting its natural beauty. This exhibit celebrates their creative expressions inspired by the Highlands."

~ Elliott Ruga, Policy Director

Organized  by curator Donna Compton, owner of Compton Gallery in Boonton, and the  staff of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, the exhibit is juried by a  panel of prominent gallery owners and art industry professionals. The  Highlands Exhibit offers artists an opportunity to have their work  exhibited while reaching a wide audience.  JURORS 

"Both veteran and first-time exhibitors over the years have shared sensational vistas and intimate vignettes, expressing their authentic passion for this beautiful place and its unique importance," said Exhibit Curator Donna Compton. "This inspiring showcase of our natural, historical and cultural heritage is a compelling call to experience the Highlands for themselves, and to support our vital conservation efforts."