The glowing six-foot-tall headphones catch your eye, the young girl smiling makes you smile back and the three-story-tall mural has accomplished what art should do — it has your attention.
Audible, The City of Newark, and the Newark Artist Collaboration (NAC) in June unveiled more than a dozen art installations in and around the Audible building on Washington Place and surrounding blocks. But these murals aren’t just for the eyes. They’re for the ears, too. Each installment comes with a QR code that can be read by a smartphone linking you to the artist’s story, told by them in their own voices.
“Newark has a tremendous arts history, what we have here in Newark is special,” said Aisha Glover, Vice President Urban Innovation, Audible.
“How can we work collaboratively to help activate artists? We wanted to make sure we are connecting them with resources while helping them beautify our neighborhood,” added Glover.
Audible asked for proposals in June of 2021. Fifteen artists and artist collectives were chosen by a jury of local arts professionals and community stakeholders after a call for proposals.
“Newark is a home of artists, and not only that, our economic growth and recovery is centered around how well our artists do in the city,” Mayor Ras Baraka.
Lundy and Rolling, the artists behind the piece called “Souvenir de la voix” or the recollection of voices, are second-generation muralists at YENDOR carrying on the legacy of Rodney M. Gilbert, who created the organization to address the need for public art in Newark. Gilbert was also the senior program manager for the Newark Murals program.
“The meaning behind the mural is to carry the legacy, when you look at the mural you see a lot of characters (painted) black and white and then you see two little girls one has the headphones, the other side is getting her hair braided which signifies the future and the past,” said Hans Lundy who created the artwork with Malcolm Rolling.
The mural is done with spray cans and traditional outdoor exterior paint on the Newark Public Library Annex but it comes with some upgrades.
“The cool additional part is the headphones light up at night… they constructed a light box and installed it so when you drive past it at night it will glow orange-yellow,” said Lundy. “It has LEDs that stay on day and night,” Lundy added.
Say So! Dance is an abstract fence mural on Lackawanna Avenue that moves in the breeze and the colors change as the sun moves through the day.
“Say So is a colloquium used with the black community diaspora and it is an acknowledgment that I see you,” said artist Antoinette Ellis-Williams. “Not only be seen but heard and nod saying I understand that you have been through some things,” added Ellis-Williams.
The mural has eight panels representing the four seasons of life, spring/birth, summer/self-discovery, fall/commitment, and winter/legacy.
“The digital installation has eight individual dancers. I use dance as the motif to be able to talk about these connected conversations,” said Ellis-Williams.
“I’m actually using pastels and soft colors to say a very powerful thing. I’m reclaiming those colors in a way that the fem community has also put forward that lavender and pink and those things that have been culturally assigned as feminine, or less than what status says regarding gender and sexuality,” said Ellis-Williams.
Ellis-Williams, who started doing art earnestly about eight years ago, said the inspiration for this piece came when she “literally was doodling in July with my finger on my phone.” Using an app, she played around with creating circles that moved, which became part of the mural.
By early August I looked and these (doodles) could be something and with my finger, I kind of moved them around and I said that’s very cute. I think they are dancers and I started to play some more,” added Ellis-Williams
Of the almost 200 doodles created, eight of them are part of this mural.
Being an immigrant that has lived here for 24 years, Ellis-Williams said she felt it was time to get involved and share her artwork. The panels, she said, all connect to each other and connect back to ancestors.
“The Iroquois has a philosophy of the seventh generation, that what we do today will last for seven generations for our daughter, your granddaughter, and so forth,” said Ellis-Williams.
“The last two panels are about what are we leaving behind, what message do you want to be known for? What do we want to give our children?” added Ellis-Williams.
The outdoor artwork is available 24/7 but the artwork inside Audible will only be available at certain times. Five of the art installations are inside Audible. Two are animated digital artworks on the giant screen in the lobby displayed one after another and the rest are throughout the building.
Several of the outside installations are permanent but others will be rotational to offer opportunities to other artists.
There is a map showing the location of the artwork and information on the artists.
Art display in NewarkEd Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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Ed Murray may be reached at emurray@njadvancemedia.com.