(NEWARK, NJ) -- Gallery Aferro will celebrate its 15th anniversary on June 16th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm with "Come As You Are" - a benefit art auction and party at the gallery. The night will celebrate a milestone anniversary for the proudly artist-run space. The event features an auction of hundreds of artworks by emerging and established artists, live music in four languages by Joya Angola Thompson, Nadine LaFond, and Emily Turonis, strong summer cocktails and delicious catering reflecting NJ’s magnificent demographic diversity, including a homemade artisan ice cream bar, and an array of door prizes including getaway packages. The night will also honor James Abruzzo. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door. Special VIP tickets with early access to artwork for sale and a VIP happy hour are also available.
2018 Honoree James Abruzzo has dedicated his working life to strengthening civil society by training, mentoring, recruiting, and coaching leaders of nonprofit organizations. As Global Head, Nonprofit Practice of DHR International, he leads a team within this retained executive search firm whose clients include NGOs, cultural organizations, foundations, social service and educational institutions. James opened and managed the first retained executive search office in the City of Newark and recruited the CEOs for NJPAC, NJSO, the Newark Museum, Newark Symphony Hall and the Newark Library. In 2004, recognizing the growing gap in leadership in the nonprofit sector, James and Alex Plinio, with the encouragement of then-Chancellor Steve Diner, created the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School. Like James, we are deeply committed to civil society and to living our values. For the gallery, this means an unbending commitment to holding space for ideas, dialogue, and joy.
All proceeds from tickets and purchases make possible Gallery Aferro's year-round exhibitions and wide range of public events, artist residencies, publications, public art, educational offerings, collaborations, and innovative, community-responsive projects such as our mobile portrait studio. It all began in 2003 here in Newark, when artists Evonne M. Davis and Emma Wilcox founded an arts and community space named Aferro: (Portuguese, idiomatic) Bound or chained to an insane idea, or an idea that is difficult to achieve.
Located downtown since 2006, the gallery has received 5 back-to-back Citations of Excellence from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and has been described by Inside New Jersey magazine as offering "a dizzying array of contemporary art." The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has praised our “expansive vision, impact in Newark as well as regionally and even internationally”, and our “exemplary mentoring opportunities for young artists.” Radius magazine has described the gallery as a place where “exuberant extremes of age and background come together,” and Brick City Live has commented on our “community-minded, experimental, collaborative, and DIY ethos.”
Gallery Aferro is located at 73 Market Street in Newark, New Jersey.
