Facing Newark
Tony Zaza
For artists, it may be the last frontier, this city without walls on the banks of the Passaic: Newark. Activity is brewing. Gallery spaces are sprouting. There is Aljira and City Without Walls, a gallery at Newark-Rutgers, factory space converted to artists studios. New York city is 15 minutes away by PATH. Parking is plentiful.
New Ark has been affordable since 1668 when the first Puritan settlement was firmly established near where artists Vicky Hanks discovered purely by accident a former wagon wheel factory newly converted to 1400 square foot residential/studio loft spaces near Newark’s Symphony Hall. This part of Newark was abandoned since the riots of 1968. While the stigma has faded, some anxiety still exists, but according to current residents and organizations like the Newark Arts Council which has been actively supporting emerging artists, fear is myth.
"Facing Newark," part of Newark’s annual Open Artists’ Studios + Available Space Tour is an installation exhibition organized by Rupert Ravens, temporary Williamsburg expatriate, features 22,000 square feet of office space at 1 Washington Park devoted to works by 30 New York/New Jersey Metro Area artists. The works compete with the view of the skyline from the 17th floor. Politically-inspired murals compete with floating carpet and giant camouflage pants; offices have been transformed into devotional spaces or enclaves of descent; at least one staged "happening" in which guests are invited to destroy a column vie with sculptural epitaphs that evoke chagrin or dismay.
Ten blocks further toward the Newark International Airport, Disputed Territories, a themed show about artificial boundaries curated by Joe Ford, exposes other myths: icons of violence, on Crawford Street off Broad.
Given the cost per square foot of space in adjacent communities such as Hoboken, Jersey City, Montclair and New York City, Newark is the last viable alternative. With the new light rail and new arena, these signs of life beckon the pioneer spirit.
