Audible names 18 artists to first phase of Newark Artist Collaboration (updated)

Audible chose 18 artists to be part of the first phase of its Newark Artist Collaboration, a program created to encourage local investment in Newark’s creative community.

The artists and artist collectives were selected by a jury of local arts professionals and community stakeholders to produce large-scale installations and public artworks at Audible’s newly renovated 1 Washington Park headquarters and in the surrounding downtown neighborhood, the company announced Oct. 18.

An additional installation site was recently added at 53 University Ave.

Selected Newark Artist Collaboration participants include:

• Adama Delphine Fawundu, a photo-based visual artist, who will create a nearly 50-foot immersive digital artwork in the lobby of Audible’s newly renovated 1 Washington Park.
• Antoinette Ellis-Williams, a multidisciplinary visual artist, poet, playwright, actor and scholar, who will create a vibrant mounted fence mural on Lackawanna Avenue across from Broad Street Station.
• Armisey N. Smith, a visual artist, arts administrator, and educator, who was selected to create a multifaceted installation at the Newark Public Library courtyard that includes a nearly 40-foot-long mural and series of functional sculptures.
• Eirini Linardaki, a public artist who lives between Newark and the island of Crete, who will create a multi-location intervention on University Avenue that will include a mounted fence mural and a large-scale facade activation driven by local youth participation.
• GERALUZ & WERC, a street artist couple with roots in Newark, who were selected to create a nearly 500-foot-long mounted mural and light installation off Broad Street on the Route 280 barrier facade.
• IMVisible, a collective of Newark-based artists who amplify migrant voices in the city of Newark using art, advocacy and education with a holistic approach, who were selected to create a temporary facade installation at the FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community.
• Hans Lundy and Malcolm Rolling, who were selected to create a mural on the Newark Public Library Annex that depicts the spoken and oral histories of Africans throughout the diaspora.
• Melisa E Gerecci, an illustrator whose work centers the power of everyday objects and place, who was selected to create an informative wallpaper installation about Newark’s rich culinary culture at Audible’s Innovation Cathedral.
• Monifa Kincaid, a visual artist, who was selected to create a mounted fence mural on Essex Street that gives an illustrated mapping of underrepresented voices and historical events.
• Nancy Saleme and Patricia Carzola, an aunt and niece Latinx collaborative artist duo, who were selected to create an empowering installation at the Newark Public Library Youth Courtyard that gives attendees the opportunity to sit, play, dream, and read alongside each other.
• Noelle Lorraine Williams, a public humanities specialist, artist, researcher and curator, who was selected to install an intervention that includes site-specific iteration of artworks from her multimedia project Black Power! 19th Century.
• Ron Norsworthy, whose multidisciplinary practice engages art, design and architecture, was selected to create a multi-facade, kaleidoscope-like environment that embraces local landmarks and retells their history through intricately designed wallpaper.
• Yasmin De Jesus, who has created murals in Newark for over 12 years,was selected to create a mural in the lobby of Audible’s 1 Washington Park headquarters that captures the importance of voice and representation.

Baraka

“This group of local artists truly represents the ambition, originality, and talent of Newark’s creative community,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka in a prepared statement. “The Newark Artist Collaboration shines a critical light on the exceptional creators we have in Newark, which has long been a center for the arts and culture. Through Audible’s leadership, we have a replicable model by which the public and private sectors can come together to support the artistic community that we call home.”

Newark Artist Collaboration installations will begin this fall in and around Audible’s headquarters.

Neighborhood stakeholders who donated their space in support of this project include Aetna Realty, Hanini Group, Bolton Development, Fidelco Realty Group, FOCUS – Hispanic Center for Community Development, the Newark Public Library and Rutgers University-Newark. The City of Newark’s Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs and local arts organizations – such as Express Newark, Newark Arts, The Newark Museum of Art and Project for Empty Space – also advised on and supported the development of the program.

Newark Artist Collaboration Jurors included Celeste Bateman, and Associates Principal and Founder Celeste Bateman, principle and founder, The  Newark Museum of Art Curator of American Art Tricia Laughlin Bloom, Newark Arts Director of Marketing and Artistic Initiatives Lauren Craig, Newark Public Library Library Director Joslyn Bowling Dixon, Audible Chief People Officer Anne Erni, Audible Vice President of Urban Innovation Aisha Glover, Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design Founder and Principal Nina Cooke John, SDM Art Solutions Service Owner Sheila McKoy, Newark Symphony Hall President and CEO Taneshia Nash Laird, Audible Vice President and Creative Director Kari Niles, HECTOR Partner, Designer and Urban Planner Damon Rich, City of Newark Arts and Cultural Affairs Director fayemi shakur, Express Newark at Rutgers University Director Salamishah Tillet, Tucker Contemporary Art Director Roger Tucker, and Project for Empty Spaceart Co-director Jasmine Wahi.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story indicated that 15 artists were chosen for Audible’s Newark Artists Collaboration program, that was incorrect. While 15 artists and collectives were chose, the total number of artists – inclusive of the collectives – is 18. This story, and headline, was updated at 11:42 a.m. EST on Oct. 19, 2021, to reflect that distinction.