The Full Story
About
"Where the line between the band and the audience ceases to exist. Jersey City's intimate home for jazz, art, and culture."
Mission
The Statuary fosters an immersive artistic environment where jazz, art, and community converge, breaking the barrier between performers and audiences to celebrate creativity, inclusion, and cultural heritage.
Vision
To expand The Statuary as a vibrant live-work-present space that nurtures artistic collaboration, preserves cultural legacies, and inspires deep connections between artists and audiences.
Values
At The Statuary, we champion Creativity by fostering artistic expression, Collaboration by uniting performers and audiences, Cultural Legacy by honoring the traditions of jazz and immersive artistry, and Community by creating a welcoming space that connects and inspires."
History
The Statuary’s roots reach back more than a century, to 1907, when sculptor and painter Gino DeSanctis established the Jersey Statuary Company inside a modest two‑story house on Congress Street. For decades, the building served as a working studio where sculptural craft shaped the daily rhythm of the space. The house absorbed that creative energy—its walls carrying the imprint of a long lineage of artistic labor.
In 2007, Walter and Margo Parks became the next stewards of this legacy. They transformed the historic structure into an artist live/work/present space, preserving its handmade character while opening it to musicians, visual artists, and community members. Under their care, The Statuary evolved into a gathering place for collaboration, experimentation, and cultural exchange.
In 2020—during one of the most challenging moments for the arts—Rachel Ryll and Ted Chubb took ownership of the property and committed themselves to sustaining and expanding its creative purpose. They invested more than $100,000 in essential repairs and upgrades, ensuring the building remained safe, functional, and welcoming for artists and audiences alike. Their stewardship is grounded in values of accessibility, diversity, inclusion, and community connection.
Now, as Rachel and Ted celebrate five years of programming, music, and community engagement, The Statuary stands as a vital cultural space in Jersey City. Its intimate scale and historic character echo the spirit of the 1970s Jazz Loft scene—unguarded, exploratory, and deeply human. The venue provides a platform for innovative local, regional, and national artists, offering audiences an experience that blurs the line between performer and listener.
Across its 100‑plus‑year history, one thread has remained constant, The Statuary is a place where creativity is lived, shared, and passed forward. Today, it continues to serve the public as a home for live music, artistic expression, and community connection—honoring its past while shaping the next chapter of Jersey City’s cultural landscape.
Our Team
Rachel Ryll and Ted Chubb are a dynamic husband-and-wife duo, blending their expertise in music, community, and creative spaces to shape The Statuary’s vibrant atmosphere. Together, they cultivate an immersive environment where artists and audiences connect in unforgettable, boundary-defying experiences.
OUR STORY
Rachel Ryll and Ted Chubb’s story is, at its core, a testament to devotion—devotion to music, to community, and to the intimate spaces where creativity takes root.
Their journey began in 2001 at The Ohio State University, where a shared curiosity for art, sound, and human connection sparked a partnership that would shape the rest of their lives. By the time they married in 2007, they had already planted themselves firmly in Jersey City, having moved there the year before. The city’s energy—its artists, its grit, its constant hum of possibility—became the backdrop for their life together.
As musicians, organizers, and community builders, Rachel and Ted found themselves drawn again and again to the places where people gather to listen, to create, and to feel part of something larger. That pull eventually led them to The Statuary. When Margo and Walter Parks entrusted them with the space, Rachel and Ted embraced not just a building, but a legacy: a live‑work‑present home where art is made, shared, and experienced up close.
Under their stewardship, The Statuary has become more than a venue. It is a living room for the arts—a place where the line between performer and audience dissolves, where musicians feel held, and where every gathering becomes a moment of genuine connection. Their vision is simple and deeply human: create a space where music thrives, creativity flows without pretense, and people leave feeling more connected than when they arrived.
In Jersey City, Rachel and Ted are not merely preserving what The Statuary has been. They are shaping what it can become—an evolving chapter in the city’s artistic story, built on intimacy, authenticity, and the belief that live music is most powerful when shared close to the heart.