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Newark Arts Festival Celebrates 10,000 Visitors And A Breakout Year
originally published: 10/30/2018
(NEWARK, NJ) -- This year, the Newark Arts Festival launched a new brand and debuted dynamic programming to 10,000 attendees and participants, as it transitioned from the former Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival. Over a four-day span from Thursday, October 4th, through Sunday, October 7th, in all five wards, Newark Arts celebrated its 17th annual showcase of the best in visual and performing arts, spotlighting Newark’s rich landscape of museums, galleries and pop-up venues.
Proudly dubbed ‘The Arts Mayor’, Mayor Ras J. Baraka kicked off the festival with a rousing speech at Express Newark in the Hahne & Co. Building. “We have art everywhere; they have never seen a city with this much art. We ultimately tie art to the economic growth, to the social fabric of the city, intellectual growth, development of its young people, and to the sustaining of its families...art is at the center of all of that!” said Mayor Baraka to a room over 150 guests.
With the sponsorship of L&M Development, Newark Arts converted raw spaces in the historic Hahne’s Building into several pop-up galleries that were activated on opening night. In total, Newark Arts partnered with over 80 venues and 500 participating artists. Many artists, curators and venues reported multiple sales and a large number of visitors to their exhibits.
The festival provided attendees with a number of fresh ways to participate including the M&T Bank Murals + Martinis Public Art Tour, which took riders on a tour of new and popular commissioned walls and structures, and Open Doors Kids, a mini-festival of the arts just for child art enthusiasts. Guided walking tours were offered through Have You Met Newark and Brown Girls Bar Crawl, giving a more up close and personal interaction with some of Downtown Newark’s art exhibits.
The festival offered day-to-night experiences including the Friday Night Gallery Crawl, Sunday’s Open Doors Studio Tours and multiple nightlife experiences. Live performances ranged from spoken word at Dodge Poetry Festival’s “Poems in The Key Of Life” featuring Newark native, Kim Hawthorne, to a surprise performance by 90s hip hop duo, Smif N Wessun at the “HYCIDE in Flux” pop-up exhibit, to an intimate live album recording by Khalil Jibran.
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A major highlight was the inaugural edition of the Newark Arts Festival journal, entitled “A Dedication to Memory,” a 70-page commemorative piece that is a homage to the past, present and future. It will soon be available online in the Newark Arts Festival store, along with this year’s commemorative tote bag.
Newark Arts is generously supported by the City of Newark, Prudential, PSEG, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Victoria Foundation, Turrell Fund, Bank of America, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and individuals, businesses and institutions.
PHOTO: Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Kim Hawthorne. Photo by Stafford Woods.
Art Center to Participate in Summit’s Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. (SUMMIT, NJ) -- On Monday, January 21, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will participate in Summit’s Day of Justice, Equality, and Service to Others, organized by Shaping Summit Together. The community-wide event is taking place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with the goal of educating, raising awareness, and engaging people in activities that help those experiencing hardship through circumstances arising from underlying inequality. Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series Presents "The Erotic as Power: Sexuality and the Black Experience" (NEWARK, NJ) -- The erotic is often seen as a realm of oppression and danger. But, as Audre Lorde argued 40 years ago, it also contains the potential for empowerment and struggle. This tension will be explored as the 39th annual Marion Thompson Wright (MTW) Lecture Series brings together eminent scholars and performers to examine the poltical and social lives of the erotic in the African American experience.West Windsor Arts Council presents Faculty Student Show (PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- Every day students of all ages come to the West Windsor Arts Center to expand their knowledge and experiment with art and creativity. Whether they are adults or children, they take classes in order to try something new or hone their skills by learning from some of the best teaching artists in the region. Classes are offered in many artistic media including painting, drawing, and sculpting as well as fashion design, photography and the literary and performing arts. The annual Faculty Student Show aims to provide the experience of submitting and preparing their work for a professional exhibition as well.Monmouth University Hosts Artist Talk with Sherrill Roland about "The Jumpsuit Project" (WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University will host artist Sherrill Roland on Tuesday, January 29 at 4:30pm in Wilson Hall Auditorium, to discuss his socially engaged artwork The Jumpsuit Project — that he uses to ignite conversations around issues related to mass incarceration.Art House Productions Presents 13th Annual Snow Ball Gala (JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Join Art House Productions and presenting sponsor SILVERMAN for their 13th Annual Snow Ball Gala on Saturday, January 26th, 2018 from 7:00pm- 12:00am with VIP beginning at 6:00pm (Snow date: Saturday, February 2nd) at Art House’s location at the Cast Iron Lofts, 262 17th St, Jersey City, NJ. This year’s Snow Ball features live music from Cook Thugless ("Cook Thugless are one of the coolest bands in New Jersey." -Bob Makin, My Central Jersey), live and silent auctions from Grandstand Sports, including sports memorabilia, local art pieces, and exclusive weekend getaways.
Inside New Jersey Stage Magazine Issue 54 (BELMAR, NJ) -- The latest issue of New Jersey Stage magazine contains something for every arts fan. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, John Oates, is the cover story in an issue packed with music, film, theatre, and art coverage. The issue is available for free at www.NJArtsMag.com Nick Kiefer In Iceland Nick Kiefer is an award winning graphic designer and photographer based out of Asbury Park, NJ. He is currently the Art Director at Netwave Interactive - a branding and advertising agency in Point Pleasant. NJ. Nick has also been designing and photographing in the NJ music scene for more than half his life. He has designed dozens of record covers and gig posters for local musicians in the Asbury Park area. After a heavy year packed with work, he and his fiancé Kristina, decided to roam around Iceland for a few weeks back in October of 2018. Here are some photos from the trip.Peter Max Remembers Frank Sinatra (HOBOKEN, NJ) -- As fans of Frank Sinatra across the world remember the legendary entertainer on what would have been his 103th birthday (December 12th), pop artist Peter Max provides a series of portraits of 'Ol' Blue Eyes' at different points throughout his career. Max, with a 5 decades-long career of his own, created these signature, vibrantly colored portraits, working with the Sinatra family to celebrate the Sinatra Centennial in 2015. They remain a fan favorite at gallery shows across the country.Jerry Gant 1961-2018 Jerry,
There is no bio that will seem complete for you. Where would it be listed, amongst your numerous and diverse accomplishments, that you talked to people, always seemed to find time for the younger artists, to talk to them and look at their sketchbooks? Your use of language as a material, testing limits, associations, and possibilities. PODCAST: An Artist Asks "The 20 Most Important Scientific Questions Of The 21st Century" In this podcast, we speak with them about art, activism and how women invented Postmodernism. “The 20 Most Important Scientific Questions of the 21st Century” runs through December 14th at Douglass Library.
From Our Magazine
Nick Kiefer In Iceland
Nick Kiefer is an award winning graphic designer and photographer based out of Asbury Park, NJ. He is currently the Art Director at Netwave Interactive - a branding and advertising agency in Point Pleasant. NJ. Nick has also been designing and photographing in the NJ music scene for more than half his life. He has designed dozens of record covers and gig posters for local musicians in the Asbury Park area. After a heavy year packed with work, he and his fiancé Kristina, decided to roam around Iceland for a few weeks back in October of 2018. Here are some photos from the trip.
Peter Max Remembers Frank Sinatra
(HOBOKEN, NJ) -- As fans of Frank Sinatra across the world remember the legendary entertainer on what would have been his 103th birthday (December 12th), pop artist Peter Max provides a series of portraits of 'Ol' Blue Eyes' at different points throughout his career. Max, with a 5 decades-long career of his own, created these signature, vibrantly colored portraits, working with the Sinatra family to celebrate the Sinatra Centennial in 2015. They remain a fan favorite at gallery shows across the country.
Jerry Gant 1961-2018
Jerry,
There is no bio that will seem complete for you. Where would it be listed, amongst your numerous and diverse accomplishments, that you talked to people, always seemed to find time for the younger artists, to talk to them and look at their sketchbooks? Your use of language as a material, testing limits, associations, and possibilities.
Heather Ujiie Explores "Terra Incognita" At Rowan University Art Gallery
“My life’s mission is to challenge myself to go to new places,” said Heather Ujiie, a Bucks County, PA, multimedia artist whose latest work, “Terra Incognita,” is on display at the Rowan University Art Gallery now through November 17, 2018.
Event calendar Saturday, Jan 19, 2019
MUSIC
ALABAMA @ Hard Rock Live Etess Arena at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City, Atlantic City - 8:00pm
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