Nominations for the Marisa Tufaro Memorial Art Scholarship are being accepted until February 7, 2024.
Students who are Middlesex County residents between the ages of 7 and 14 are eligible for the scholarship, which will afford multiple students an opportunity to attend a weeklong art camp this summer at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum, where Marisa previously honed her craft and where her artwork was once displayed at an exhibit.
The camp will run for five consecutive weeks from July 1 through August 2 (there is no camp on July 4). Scholarship recipients can elect to participate in half-day sessions (mornings or afternoons) for any one of those weeks.
The museum’s summer art camp, which began nearly two decades ago, traditionally adds new classes each year. The schedule of classes from which scholarship recipients can choose will be available in February.
The scholarship opportunities have been made possible through donations to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation from a member of the Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association, who wishes to remain anonymous, and other generous benefactors.
Scholarship applicants must share Marisa’s passion and talent for art. Only an art teacher from a student’s school can nominate scholarship candidates.
Nominations must be submitted no later than February 7, 2024, in the form of an art teacher’s letter of recommendation on behalf of the candidate via email to gregorytufaro@gmail.com.
Parents and/or legal guardians of scholarship recipients are responsible for providing transportation to and from the summer camp, which will be held at the Zimmerli Museum on Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus.
The Zimmerli Art Museum’s Summer Art Camp allows artists (ages 7 to 14) of various ability levels to explore their creative side and develop new skills alongside wonderful teaching artists in a unique setting only an art museum can provide. Children often find inspiration in the museum’s collection as they explore the galleries.
According to Rutgers University’s website, “During the hot days of summer, the Zimmerli is the place to be for budding young artists. Each year, new classes are added to stimulate, challenge and delight both veteran and newcomers who participate in the program. The Zimmerli continues to offer its popular classes in painting, drawing, pastels, watercolors, sculpture, and an art ‘sampler’ class.”
Edison High School baseball coach Vinnie Abene, past president of the Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association, said a coach from the league called him immediately after Marisa’s untimely passing in 2017 to propose the idea of an art scholarship.
“There are a lot of great guys in our association and there were a lot of ideas that were thrown around at the time,” said Abene. “There was one particular coach that was really moved by what he saw (at a memorial service) with the amount of art projects that Marisa had accomplished and created. That truly inspired him to have a unique idea. He called me the same night and told me what his idea was, and he certainly made it a point that he wanted to keep it anonymous because it wasn’t about him. He just wanted to make sure that some worthy students would use the money toward an art scholarship.”
Marisa’s ambition was to attend an art college, and while God’s plan did not allow her to make it to one, her work did.
A piece Marisa constructed with a New York City School of Visual Arts graduate student during an art therapy session at New York Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital was displayed at the “Your Turn” exhibit at the college’s Flatiron Gallery in Manhattan a month after her untimely passing.
Marisa was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, a complex cardiac defect which required six open-heart surgeries. Marisa developed two life-threatening conditions that necessitated a heart transplant. The transplant was supposed to extend her life, but tragically cut it short when a postoperative complication developed into a rare form of cancer (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder) to which Marisa succumbed in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
Established just over six years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has made a profound impact, donating more than $300,000 and spearheading multiple community initiatives to fulfill its mission of helping pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies, and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $29,500 in college academic scholarships to 42 exceptional Middlesex County high school students who advance the nonprofit’s mission, and 20 scholarships to elementary and middle school students to attend the Zimmerli Art Museum’s Summer Art Camp.
To learn more about the Zimmerli Art Museum and its collections and program offerings, please visit https://zimmerli.rutgers.edu/