This selection of recent works is pulled from a larger body that explores the Ducktown neighborhood in Atlantic City through stories of past and present immigrants of two area homes and the local businesses that continue to meet their everyday needs. A neighborhood holds many different stories from people who live there, and we expect these stories to change as the people change over time. But is there something about a place that remains in those stories even as the culture changes?
To answer this question, artist Janice Merendino '74, created work that explores the commonalities between the family life of her Italian immigrant grandparents in the 1900’s, and life in the neighborhood today. She juxtaposes her family’s memories with stories of current residents to see what common themes emerge. While the works are lighthearted and playful, the underlying stories reveal the joys and challenges immigrant newcomers face to adapt and assimilate. By illustrating the enduring elements of a place, we may see more of ourselves in those that came before us and after us. Ducktown was and continues to be a lively place filled with aunts, uncles, and cousins, with vibrant rhythms of family life that still exist today.
A special addition to this exhibition is artwork by young artists who currently reside in Janice’s grandparent’s original home as well as drawings produced by children in an outdoor pop-up event called “We <3 our corner stores!”
Event Actions
Videographer John Thornton captures Janice Merendino's story
"Artist Janice Merendino's exhibition called “Ducktown: An Atlantic City Immigration Story” is both beautiful and life affirming. A granddaughter of immigrants, Janice went to visit the neighborhood where she grew up and found that the new residents have much in common with her own family history. Her beautiful art and uplifting stories should be seen and heard by all Americans. In a challenging time, Janice Merendino reminds us of who we truly are." - John Thornton, 2024"I especially want Moore students to know about this project since it was originally inspired by a photo assignment I had as a freshman there in the 1970s..."
"...I never would have guessed that I’d be basing an exhibition on those photos five decades later. It's a reminder that you never know how your work today can affect projects later in life."
Merendino is a ceramic artist, painter, and one of five founders of The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. She's a now-retired art professor of art currently directs The Branch Out Project, an organization that offers arts-based visual literacy workshops to business executives and others. Since 1998, Merendino has been designing and teaching art workshops at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a variety of audiences including adults with disabilities, Veterans, and people with Parkinson's disease. Her artwork is strongly influenced by Japan and Japanese art—she has been exhibited widely here and in Japan where she's studied ceramics, calligraphy and traditional "urauchi" scroll mounting, a technique currently used in her work.
Image: Janice Merendino, Cono’s Fig Trees (detail), 2023, mixed media on paper, 18 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
