The Monmouth Museum presents "Chairish the Museum," an exhibition and silent auction of one-of-a-kind chairs decorated and designed by local artists and craftspersons. Chairs will be on display at the museum as well as various locations in the community (see list below) Feb. 2 through 15. The public will have the opportunity to place bids on chairs while they are on display at all locations. All chairs move to the museum Feb. 15 for a silent auction finale from 6 until 8 p.m. All proceeds benefit the museum's many educational programs, which include guided tours for school children and adults, gallery talks and demonstrations, lectures and workshops and the off-site program Travel Trunks, mini-museums with hands-on objects and activities on a variety of topics.

Eleanor Grace Miller This benefit was first held in the fall of 2006 with 18 artists and others donating 22 chairs decorated in a wide variety of media. Many of the chairs were found in attics, curbside collections and at yard sales and were transformed into a wonderful variety of artwork, both sculptural and utilitarian. Many artists and craftspersons who participated in the first event are donating new chair creations for the upcoming fundraiser.

Chairs can be viewed at the Monmouth Museum and at the following locations: Beacon Fine Art, 61 Monmouth St., McKay Imaging, 12 Monmouth St., both Red Bank; Beauregard Gallery, 109 East River Road, Rumson, Robert Legere Interior Design, 521 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park; Frederick Galleries, 111 Main St., Allenhurst; Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, 20 Third Ave., Long Branch; Gallery Jupiter 31 Church St., Little Silver; Windsor Gallery, 41 Highway 34 South, Colts Neck.

The Chairish the Museum Exhibition and Silent Auction finale is free and open to the public. Call the museum at (732) 747-2266 for more information or visit www.monmouthmuseum.org.

The Monmouth Museum is located on the Brookdale Community College Campus, 765 Newman Springs Road, in Lincroft, at Parking Lot #1. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

The Center for the VisualArts (CVA) at Brookdale Community College is hosting the drawing exhibit "Making Marks," which opened Jan. 17 and will continue through March 4.

"Making Marks" is the first in a series of drawing competitions to be exhibited in the CVAGallery. The gallery plans to present this type of exhibit every other year, alternating with the popular Faculty Art Show.

Gallery hours areMonday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Parking is most convenient in lot 1. For more information, call (732) 224-2520.

The Monmouth Symphony Orchestra will present a concert Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. in the Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank. Roy D. Gussman will conduct two nocturnes by Debussy, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and Havanaise by Saint-Saens, and the Symphony No. 3 in C Major by Sibelius. The violin soloist in the Saint-Saens pieces will be Garry Ianco, first violin. A pre-concert talk will be presented at 2:15 p.m. For more information about the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra, visit the website at www.monsym.org.

Atlantic Artisans, First Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, is seeking submissions for "Live Art." The call is for artists who will exhibit their art in a creative, informative, moving way in a window while spectators watch. Submissions can be made via e-mail or snail mail. Creativity is the key; more details when ideas are submitted.

For more information, e-mail info@atlanticartisans. com or call (732) 291-0100. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 30. AtlanticArtisans is a gallery dedicated to exhibiting local andAmerican artisans in all styles, all mediums.

Hear poetry come alive when performance poet Lorraine Stone reads the work of major African American poets at the monthly Thursday Poetry Reading and Open Mic Series at Middletown Main Library Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. Stone makes the written word come alive as she reads the works of poets Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes. Joining Stone will be author and poet Virginia Bryan. The series is free and open to the public. Readings will be Podcast and available on the library Web site at www.mtpl.org. For more information, call (732) 671-3700 ext. 320 or e-mail programs@ mtpl.org. The library is located at 55 New Monmouth Road in Middletown.