New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

Ground Broken For Newark Arts Commons

originally published: 04/25/2018


(NEWARK, NJ) -- Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Deputy Mayor and Director of Newark Economic Development and Tourism Carmelo Garcia, Mayor's Office of Arts, Cultural Development and Tourism Gwen Moten, Rutgers University-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, and GlassRoots CEO Barbara Heisler will broke ground for the new Newark Arts Commons on Wednesday, April 25 at the old St. Michael's Hospital (111 Central Avenue) in downtown Newark.

The abandoned historic building will be converted into an 18,000-square foot creative hub, which will enable Newark residents of all ages to learn artistic, entrepreneurial, and life skills.

"Culture and the arts are the core of our city's transformation and growth," Mayor Baraka said. "They are central to our luster as a destination, vital to empowering our economy, and critical to inspiring our youth and residents to achieve their dreams of creative success. This new facility will enable all of these goals to become reality, while also restoring a historic downtown building to productive use. I look forward to the success of the Newark Arts Commons."

GlassRoots alone will create six large, dynamic glass art shops, classrooms, gallery spaces, a gift shop, event rental spaces, and a coffee shop. The Standalone Scientific Glass Workshop will bring new industry to Newark and create employment opportunities for program graduates.

The new facility will provide GlassRoots with a new home and space for other arts organizations.




New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info



The Newark Arts Commons will enable:

*         Youth opportunities to work alongside professional artists
*         Young adults to serve as gallery docents and take art classes
*         Adults to be able to create art in "Worker's Space."
*         College students to be able to earn glass concentrations in BFA or MFA programs.
*         Artists to exhibit in the facility's gallery and have their art sold in the gift shop.
*         Programs to enable communities to gather to work and meet in a creative environment.


GlassRoots is a Newark-based 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for achievement to youth and young adults by engaging them in the creation of glass art and the development of entrepreneurial and life skills. GlassRoots programs are STEAM-based (STEM+Art), and are offered as in-school residencies, after-school and summer arts programs, workforce development programs, and as workshops for teens and adults, using competency in handling molten glass as a pathway to personal development.  


PHOTO: Mayor Baraka and GlassRoots Break Ground for New Newark Arts Commons at Old St. Michael's Hospital, April 25, 2018





New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info




FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Sorry, no more events are available.


Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Luke

Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon to orbit Rahway in October

(RAHWAY, NJ) -- Museum of the Moon, a touring artwork by U.K. artist Luke Jerram, will be presented inside the majestic Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) in October 2025. This is the first time Museum of the Moon will be presented in New Jersey and one of a handful of times it has been exhibited on the East Coast in the United States.



Sandy

Sandy Bennett Art Gallery at bergenPAC presents Works by Ellen Reinkraut

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- The Sandy Bennett Art Gallery at bergenPAC presents New Jersey's esteemed contemporary artist, Ellen Reinkraut with "Layered Contemporary Mixed Media." The exhibit showcases extraordinary unique layered art inspired by the mystical element of life. It is on display through August 2025.



Kirby

Kirby & Delia: "All Rise"

The murals in the Brennan Courthouse (583 Newark Avenue) aren't tough to decipher. There are pilgrims, there are patriots, and there is Hudson County history rendered in the boldest strokes. Look to the underside of the building's grand dome and you'll find signs of the Zodiac; look to the walls for "The Coming of the English," a piece by Howard Pyle that depicts exactly what its title suggests that it will. This feels appropriate for the town's most handsome building — one with an interior reminiscent of classic civic architecture in Trenton and D.C. and the decorated Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and named after a jurist whose written decisions on the Supreme Court were distinguished by their clarity. William Brennan believed in the salutary effects of direct and comprehensible language. For him, the law was no place for abstraction.



Gallery

Gallery at HACPAC presents Colorblind, a solo exhibition of paintings by Val DeAppolonio

(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- The Ruth Bauer Neustadter Gallery at Hackensack Performing Arts Center (HACPAC) presents Colorblind, a solo exhibition of paintings by Val DeAppolonio from July 7 through August 29, 2025. Val is a self-taught, colorblind artist from Northern NJ whose bold abstracts pulse with energy and motion.



Akwaaba

Akwaaba Gallery presents Martryce Roach Solo Exhibition Reflecting the Great Migration

(NEWARK, NJ) -- Akwaaba Gallery is proud to present "Patterns: People in Transition," the second solo exhibition of New Jersey born artist, Martryce Roach. The exhibition features a collection of brand new paintings, ranging in size, that explore the rich history of the Great Migration and its synergy with blues music. The exhibition will be on view through August 15, 2025 with an opening reception on Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm.