coLAB Arts Director of Education reflects on the passing of past board president Jeffery Lee Longhofer.
In the winter of 2010, as I was entering my final semester as a graduate student at Rutgers, I was invited to a graduate student and faculty mixer. During the event I struck up a casual conversation with one of the newest faculty members at the Rutgers School of Social Work as well as his husband and research partner. What sticks out most in my memory is their insatiable curiosity, intellectual rigor, and good taste in bourbon. Over the course of a 30-minute conversation we talked about the nature of art, science, community engagement, and contemporary art. That night was the start of a friendship that greatly influenced my art and my personal life as well as the growth and trajectory of coLAB Arts.
Jeffrey Longhofer, who struck up that conversation, passed away on January 31st. He leaves behind a legacy of ideas. He and his husband Jerry regularly opened their home and their lives to countless individuals for conversation and inspiration. On a deeply personal note and as a gay man myself, I can’t help but reflect how much I saw them as my mirror. They had a meaningful committed 45 year marriage that began at a time when there were no legal protections or social acceptance for it. They had that complementary connection that enabled them to be both creative partners as well as life partners. Builders of not just themselves but of those around them.
Their influence on coLAB Arts cannot be overstated. They drove, prodded, tested, soothed, and challenged Dan and myself to be better, to do better. They saw us through our own artistic crises and turning points. They served as both the president and vice president of our organization at a time of transition. They refused to allow us to give them half answers when asked “what is coLAB Arts, whom does it serve, why should it exist?”
Dan and I couldn’t have known it at the time but that casual conversation 13 years ago began a friendship that influenced the next decade of coLAB Arts’ development. They held our first education program fundraiser at their home. They commissioned our first immersive “Behind the Moon, Beyond the Rain” which cemented coLAB Arts mission as a connective tissue between artists, advocates, and communities. In 2013 and 2014 they organized our first Board retreats to the Contemporary American Theater Festival. They traveled with education programs to theater, dance, music events and connected area young people to resources and old fashioned good advice. They recruited talented and enthusiastic board members and persuaded all of us to think bigger.
The coLAB Arts today can be directly traced to Jeffrey’s impact. We will never forget his love, thoughtfulness, and curiosity. In equal measure our hearts are with his loving partner Jerry. You have built a family of creatives and collaborators. We are thinking of you both.
To find out more about Jeff’s life please check out Jeff and Jerry’s “On Caring” Project website.
If you have any memories of Jeff please share them with us here, or feel free to email us directly at info@colab-arts.org