(CAMDEN, NJ) -- Camden Special Services District (CSSD) announces the return of the third Downtown Camden Art Crawl. On Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, 30+ local artists and makers will take over Downtown Camden in this biannual pop-up event. Artists will be paired with local small businesses along Market Street, from 2nd to 4th streets.
Look for live art in progress, music performances and creative pop-ups, plus kids activities and food trucks. Local storefronts will offer special menus, sales and features. The no charge event is family-friendly and open to all ages. The event started as a way to showcase and support Downtown Camden's developing creative economy. This year is the largest event yet in terms of artists participating and small businesses.
In conjunction with this event, guests are invited to come early for the 5th Anniversary of the Camden Pride Walk, which takes place starting at Camden County Police Department (800 Federal Street) at 3:00pm. The walk and flag raising will end on Market Street, at Roosevelt Plaza with family fun, food trucks and activities paired with Downtown Art Crawl. Complimentary parking is available for both events at 2nd and Cooper.
Downtown Camden Art Crawl is organized by Camden Special Services District and spearheaded this year by CCSD's new Executive Director Kristine Kennedy, who started earlier at the end of 2024 and brings a decade of local leadership, city planning and community organizing experience, including working with Northern Liberties Business Improvement District, Center City District, Philly Beer Week and many other organizations. Kennedy's goal for her first year in the new role and with the Art Crawl is to expand event offerings to support Downtown Camden plus to raise up and support Camden's rising creative community.
"The growth of the Downtown Camden Art Crawl is indicative of both the city's burgeoning creative class and its growth as an arts and culture destination," said Kennedy. "Artists, makers, photographers and other creatives have been finding a supportive new home in Camden as they find afford able studio spaces, rehearsal rooms and places to call home."
"Downtown Camden boasts a rich tapestry of artistic endeavors, from visual to performing arts. We have anchor businesses that are fostering our next generation of artists and creatives. Downtown Camden has a budding and supportive infrastructure that is anchored in between Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, Camden FireWorks, Waterfront South Camden, Camden Arts 311 and others around us. Directly in our Downtown district, we are proud to be home to businesses such as IDEA Center for the Arts, Camden Arts Yard, Stedman Gallery, La Unique African American Bookstore and Cultural Center, LEAP Academy Fabrication Lab, Thomas Lift (William Butler’s Studio), JPEG (Jersey Photography Education Gallery), Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Walt Whitman House, Walter K Gordon Theater, and others."
She added, "For the third edition of Downtown Camden Art Crawl we are offering our largest offering yet, with a denser footprint, more partnerships, more artists and more programming. We hope to build on last year's record turn-out and unite Camden residents, workers, families and visitors through the power of public art."
For 2025, Downtown Camden Art Crawl returns to active dozens of locations along Camden's Market Street commercial corridor. The local community is invited to come see art in process as dozens of makers will offer demonstrations and activities outside local businesses.
Come out for live music in partnership with The Institute for the Development of Education in the Arts (IDEA) Center, which is dedicated to connecting underserved youth and their families to the life affirming quality of the arts. Their work is about building more socially resourceful and vibrant communities by strengthening the human potential through creativity, culture and arts based learning. As part of that mission, IDEA Center for the Arts will host live music at 3rd and Market, including SoudEVR and Tony Perez & The Latin Wave.
For family fun, and to foster future artists, children are invited to play and make art at the Art Crawl Kids' Corner, with painting, drawing and chalk art. Youth of all ages are welcome! The Kids' Corner will be located at 213 Market.
Here are some of the artists:
Ernest Ford - A mixed-media painter from North Camden, Ford uses reclaimed materials to celebrate life, growth, and ancestry. His dynamic works reflect a deep commitment to culture, storytelling, and personal transformation.
Activation: Ford will showcase a collection of recent mixed-media pieces crafted from found objects and reclaimed wood, offering insight into his process and personal journey through guided storytelling.
Terina Nicole Hill - An award-winning designer and published author, Hill is the founder of Jypsea Leathergoods. Her bold, sustainable fashion and home accessories celebrate heritage and self-expression.
Activation: Hill will lead a pop-up showcase of her leather accessories and home decor, accompanied by a live demo on sustainable design and a short reading from her published work.
Felicia Biles (De Large), a Camden, NJ based artist, was born in Camden, NJ over 50 years ago. She has resided in the Waterfront South (WFS) section of Camden, NJ since 1988. Felicia earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Rutgers, but held various jobs.
After becoming disabled in Sept 2021 due to COVID, Felicia attended a Quilting group (Rebellious Quilters) on the first Saturday of December 2022 at FireWorks, which is in her neighborhood. This was her first time choosing and cutting fabric into strips and also using a sewing machine. Everyone in the group was so nice, she was able to ask for assistance, which built her confidence to finish her first quilt in December 2023. Now she creates quilts for everyone in her family. Felicia made a Story Quilt “Down the Shore” that was on Exhibit at FireWorks "Storytelling Quilts" in 2024. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Camden FireWorks for the "FireWorks of Art Academy" residency, and will be exhibiting in the group exhibition "Full Circle" in May 2025.
Activation: Biles will showcase her mini-quilts that were machined quilted and embroidered, along with pouches that were hand quilted. Biles will demonstrate a few hand quilting methods.
Kiona Golden-Moton - A jewelry designer and sculptor based in Camden, Golden-Moton's handcrafted adornments draw inspiration from African symbolism and traditions of ritual and self-love.
Activation: She will display her signature jewelry pieces and facilitate a hands-on workshop where visitors can design a symbolic charm reflecting their own identity or healing journey.
Jemel Balkman is a self-taught visual artist whose bold color palettes and mixed-media canvases reflect his journey of healing and discovery. He seeks to inspire and elevate others through his work.
Activation: He will host a pop-up gallery and be available for live Q&A, sharing the emotional narratives behind select pieces and how art has supported his personal growth.
Samantha Benvissuto blends photography and storytelling to preserve memory and emotion. Her portraits and documentary-style images reflect a tender and intentional eye for community, culture, and personal narratives.
Activation: Benvissuto will exhibit a photo essay series exploring Camden’s layered histories and offer on-site portrait sessions with attendees, weaving new stories into her collection.
Loan Nguyen - A first-generation Vietnamese-American artist and teacher, Nguyen's colorful works use symbolism, flora, and surreal landscapes to explore themes of belonging and identity.
Activation: Nguyen will create a live painting inspired by conversations with attendees about identity and belonging, transforming these reflections into a collaborative, evolving artwork.
Anthony Cole - An experimental photographer and analog film artist, Cole captures forgotten spaces and atmospheric light through a dreamlike lens, revealing new layers in everyday environments.
Activation: Cole will exhibit a series of analog photographs and set up a mobile darkroom demonstration, showing how he develops film and the magic of analog techniques.
Migdalia Olavarria is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, poetry, and installation. Her creative practice is rooted in healing, transformation, and collective liberation.
Activation: Olavarria will present an interactive altar installation and guide visitors through a poetic meditation experience centered on community resilience and hope.
Priscilla Rios (ExternalFreedom) - Known online as ExternalFreedom, Rios creates hand-crafted earrings and accessories that celebrate individuality, spirituality, and play. Her wearable art is an extension of her bold, expressive aesthetic.
Activation: Rios will showcase and sell her wearable art and lead a drop-in creative station where visitors can experiment with playful accessory design using upcycled materials.
De’von Downes - A New Jersey-based fine artist and educator, Downes' figurative work is inspired by Caribbean folklore and Black life in America. His oil paintings create spaces of cultural reflection and quiet celebration.
Activation: Downes' will share select oil portraits and offer a guided discussion on cultural storytelling in visual art, followed by an artist talk reflecting on his Caribbean heritage.
Richard Timbers - For the past 18 years, Timbers has been photographing people of all backgrounds in a single chair—a powerful, portable portrait project he calls THE CHAIR. Traveling state to state, his work captures spontaneous moments of humanity, unity, and personal presence.
Activation: Timbers will set up THE CHAIR on site, inviting passersby to sit for impromptu portraits and add their story to his traveling archive of connection and humanity.
Donald T. Williams is a painter, printmaker, photographer, and book artist whose work draws from family, music, poetry, and history. A dedicated educator and journalist, his art is driven by the pulse of lived experience. He's currently working on a massive personal challenge: completing 10,000 "10-minute portraits"—with nearly 3,000 already in progress.
Activation: Williams will set up a live portrait station where attendees can sit for one of his signature 10-minute portraits, adding to his evolving collection and community chronicle.
Look for a full list of artists and makers to be announced before the event. For food trucks look for delicious eats from Ron Do’s Food Truck and Taqueria Lopez. On top of activations along Market Street, Art Crawl participants are also invited to visit local businesses for special menus, sales and features. Participating businesses will include: Mylestone Catering, Essential Blends Hair Studio, Iron Lion Karate, and A Little Slice of New York.
Downtown Camden Art Crawl is open to the public and a no-charge event. All food, drink and shopping is pay-as-you-go.
In addition to the Downtown Camden Art Crawl, come out early for the 5th Anniversary of the Camden Pride Walk, which starts at 3:00pm at Camden County Police Department, 800 Federal Street, Camden, New Jersey. The walk and flag raising will end at Roosevelt Plaza at 520 Market Street with extra festivities in partnership with Art Crawl.
Camden Special Services District (CSSD) is a dynamic local organization dedicated to enhancing Camden’s vibrancy and livability through strategic investments in public spaces, community engagement, and economic development. By providing Clean & Safe services, facilitating inclusive programming, and fostering partnerships with local organizations, CSSD works to create welcoming, accessible spaces that reflect the needs and culture of Camden's diverse residents.
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