Four Corners Public Arts and Urban Agriculture Cooperative produced a free pilot community program titled Murals | Market | Music, commencing on Saturday, June 5th on Treat Place in Newark, NJ.
With the support of the City of Newark’s Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs and Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver, this immersive market space was developed to create a space for commerce, boosting the visibility of nearby businesses, elevating and empowering local creative initiatives, and bringing residents and returning commuters back together to celebrate and activate downtown Newark.
Murals | Market | Music will engage residents, local businesses, and our community as a whole with opportunities for safe summer fun and space to source fresh, locally grown food, resources, and more! I am thrilled to welcome ALL Newarkers to the Central Ward to be a part of these exciting festivities." - Councilwoman McIver.
The partnering organizations, artists, and participating vendors that came together create with the community in mind. From food justice to urban farming, to social justice-focused arts organizations and musicians, this cohort of collaborators saught to bring a program that is driven by intention and service.
Each event featured a partnership with a local arts organization. The inaugural iteration featured New Arts Justice who activated the entire south end of Treat Place throughout the day. Will You Be My Monument: An Ode to Black Girlhood aimed to address and redress the ways in which public monuments reproduce racial and gender violence as well as promote dialogue and activism, in real-time, around our history of colonization and slavery, and demands for racial justice and gender equality today. Inspired by the mural Will You Be Monument, a collaboration between designer Chantal Fischzang and photographer Scheherazade Tillet, New Arts Justice at Express Newark hopes this activation enhanced contemporary conversations about the ongoing (in)visibility of Black girls and young women in the United States by providing various art interventions and conversations—including a portrait session of Black girls in Newark with Scheherazade Tillet, 3D scans and printing of community members as their own monuments with designer Keary Rosen, and a performance by Jump Kids Health.
The marketplace, organized by Urban Agriculture Cooperative, featured fresh spring vegetables, fruits, bread, and honey from Newark and New Jersey-based farms. Ironbound Community Corporation's Down Bottom Farms will join with their Housing Justice team, and Rabbit Hole Farm, an herb and tea-blend purveyor with a vibrant community garden in Newark’s South Ward, held an early morning yoga session
Visitors to the market enjoyed Gramps Kitchen, a food truck specializing in French-Caribbean cuisine, in addition to local favorites like Divino’s Tasting Lounge. The Source of Knowledge Bookstore extended their bookstore into Treat Place and hosted an author talk and book signing by New Arts Justice director Salamishah Tillet (In Search of The Color Purple) and Newark’s very own Jasmine Mans (Call Home, Black Girl). Local artists offered a plethora of handmade objects and goods for sale. Live music and performances occurred throughout the day. Special guests included Daria Jones and Tia Holt.
The June 5th program was made possible by The City of Newark’s Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver, The Four Corners Public Arts Partnership and Sponsors, Urban Agriculture Cooperative, New Arts Justice, and the RU Form Design Studio at Express Newark, Newark Arts, the Love Your Block Grant, and the Victoria Foundation.
About Urban Agriculture Cooperative:
Urban Agriculture Cooperative is a Newark-based nonprofit with a mission to heal the local food system through building justice, health, and access. They run The Cooperative Market, an online pre-order and pick-up farmer’s market that aggregates several Newark and New Jersey-based farm products. The Cooperative Market achieves food sovereignty and economic development by prioritizing products supplied by small lot urban growers, historically under-represented and women-owned farm businesses, and family farms with a demonstrated commitment to urban food access. In addition to operating farmer’s markets, Urban Agriculture Cooperative coordinates farm builds, administers a community training reimbursement fund to support growers and food entrepreneurs, and engages in community composting initiatives. Their efforts work towards establishing an inclusive, sustainable, connected, and caring food economy where everyone can come to the table to have wholesome food to cook and eat.
About New Arts Justice at Express Newark:
New Arts Justice is a studio at Express Newark that is committed to feminist approaches to socially engaged art in Newark and beyond. Founded in 2018 at Rutgers University, Newark by faculty member Salamishah Tillet, New Arts Justice supports the vision of historically underserved artists as well as curates community-based exhibitions, film festivals, and public art installations that explore the themes of racial justice, gender equity, and site-specific art-making. Salamishah Tillet is the Henry Rutgers Professor of African American and African Studies and Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Newark and a Contributing Critic-at-Large at The New York Times. She is the author of “Sites of Slavery: Citizenship and Racial Democracy in the Post-Civil Rights Imagination” and “In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of An American Masterpiece.” Alliyah Allen is the assistant curator and project manager at New Arts Justice, an art critic, and the founding member of the Land Collective, a community of artists and curators in Newark.
About Chantal Fischzang:
Chantal Fischzang is a designer and educator based in NY/NJ. Her research and practice serve a range of multidisciplinary projects focused on design for social impact and her capabilities range from brand identity, print, publication, exhibition to interactive design. Along with her role as Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Rutgers University-Newark, Chantal is a founding member of IntraCollaborative, a team of designers and educators sharing a deep-seated interest in design and its relevance to the social sector. Integrating publicly engaged practice and design education, Chantal is the co-director of both Visual Means and The Design Consortium, two academic programs that model a design-studio working experience in which faculty, students, researchers, and community partners engage in a collaborative design process to create impact in the city of Newark.
About Scheherazade Tillet:
Scheherazade Tillet is an African American and Trinidadian photographer, art therapist, and community organizer. As a photographer, Scheherazade uses site-specific work to explore the themes of black girl subjectivity, social invisibility, and play. In 2019, she became an artist-in-residence at Shine Portrait Studio and New Arts Justice at Express Newark and currently is working on a series on Black Girlhood. In 2003, she founded A Long Walk Home (ALWH), an art organization that empowers young people to end racial and gender-based violence and centers the experiences and leadership of Black women and girls. In 2022, she will have a solo show at Project for Empty Space and curate a group show on black girlhood in Express Newark as part of the Black Portraiture conference on Play and Performance in African Diasporic communities. Her work has been featured in Elle Decor, Gagosian Journal, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
About the Form Design Studio at Express Newark:
Founded by Rutgers University, Newark’s faculty member Keary Rosen in 2017 at Form Design Studio (FDS) is a studio at Express Newark that captures the vision of designers, educators, researchers, manufacturers, amateur inventors, and the overall curious through the use of 3D modeling, scanning, and printing technology. Recognizing the extreme expense and high costs required to bring these ideas to life is often an obstacle to institutions and community residents alike, FDS works to create access to technology that allows for university-community expression through collaboration. Within FDS is Form Design Lab—a secondary classroom and workspace that houses digital fabrication machines, production materials, and specialized tools. The lab boasts state-of-the-art 3D printers, a laser etching machine, and digital scanners available for use year-round.