Waves / Passaic (immigration and history) (2019) PART 2
EIRINI LINARDAKI

Eirini Linardaki’s multi-site mural addresses how waves of immigration during its 350-plus years of history have shaped and elevated the City of Newark. In 2019, she created 100+ ft. sidewalk mural titled Waves / Passaic (immigration and history). In 2023, she repaired this artwork and extended it up a facade on Treat Place.

Using the counterpoint of the great Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in Newark’s origin story, Linardaki illustrates these “waves” with patterns and fabrics from the many cultures that have called Newark home, beginning with the Lenni Lenape peoples. The theme of immigration throughout her projects is illustrated by the concept that many fabrics and fabric patterns we often associate with one culture were actually introduced by another. While we may identify certain patterns with their “origins” within specific ethnic groups, in reality, the majority of traditional patterns are an ever-changing story that illustrates the exchange between cultures during waves of immigration.

About Eirini Linardaki:
Eirini Linardaki is an artist and public art project developer. She received her fine arts education at L.I.T. Limerick, Ireland, the Universität Der Kunst of Berlin, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, France. Linardaki has developed numerous public art projects, collaborating with organizations such as the NYC Parks Department, the NYC Mayor’s Office for Climate Policy, and the NYC Department of Transportation. As part of her local community, Eirini Linardaki has been an active member of the Newark art scene, which brings together artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to create public art installations that reflect Newark's unique character and history, with Project for Empty Space, Four Corners Public Arts, Newark Artist Collaboration, Audible and Newark Arts.

She is also known for her community-based projects, particularly through workshops on accessibility and multiculturalism in several other countries like Liberia and France, where she lived for over 20 years. In 2019, she initiated the "Occupy Art Project," a collaborative art research group that involves artists and curators from the US, France, and Greece. Linardaki's activist work was recognized with the 2022 Artivist Award from Sing For Hope. She is the mother of two children. Learn more about the artist HERE.

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