NEWARK ARTS FESTIVAL PAYS HOMAGE TO NOTABLE CULTURE SHAPERS WHILE SPOTLIGHTING RISING TALENT IN AN INSPIRING WEEKEND OF EVENT PROGRAMMING
Faith Ringgold, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Kevin Blythe Sampson, Amarah Skye and more Shine Bright at 2018 Festival
NEWARK, NJ (September 21, 2018) Newark Arts Festival 2018 will showcase a strong lineup of jaw-dropping art and installation programming along with performing arts events from October 4th through 7th, throughout New Jersey’s largest city.
Since recovering from debilitating illness, Akintola Hanif returns to open the Festival on Thursday, October 4th , with an exhibit of his latest work, HYCIDE IN FLUX to coincide with the launch of the 7th anniversary edition of HYCIDE magazine. Brooklyn’s renowned Richard Beavers Gallery, will stage a pop-up group show at the Hahne & Co. Building that includes art icon Faith Ringgold among others. Artist Terry Boddie joins the festival as curator of Lego My Rights and Death by Krystal Lemonias, which examines systemic police brutality against people of color, using a mixture of text, photographic imagery and mark-making.
A number of festival exhibits will address social issues and hot topics within the modern female dialogue including Femme Curator Arts’ The Womb, Nice/Nasty and Everything in Between curated by Armisey Smith, FEMN3D, a celebration of the female creative’s narrative featuring Amarah Skye (granddaughter of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony (EGOT)-winner Whoopi Goldberg).
Photography in all its forms will be robustly represented, as respected gallery space City Without Walls reopens its doors for one weekend only to host photographer T. Eric Monroe’s (formerly of The Source and XXL) Rare and Unseen Moments of 90s Hip Hop #AmericanHistory, and the group show Perspective Lens: "Amerika" curated by Luisa Pinzon pops up downtown.
In addition to providing free admission throughout the weekend, Newark Museum is hosting “For Freedoms” Voter Registration & Plaza Party on Saturday, October 6th, while Dodge Poetry Festival has partnered with Newark Arts to host Poems in the Key of Life on Friday, October 5th with performances by actress and Native Newarker Kim Hawthorne, among others.
The importance of Latinx cultural influence in America is examined by multiple festival entrants including the Official Newark Latino Film Festival Grand Opening, UNIDOS: LATINO & HISPANIC ARTISTS UNITE on Saturday, October 6th, and Are Latinx Transforming the US, an exhibition at Newark Public Library Main Branch, featuring muralist Layqa Nuna Yawar.
Long-running city galleries including Gallery Aferro, Index Art Center and Project for Empty Space will host dynamic exhibits to round out the weekend, and Paul Robeson Galleries at Express Newark will feature “Stop Telling Women to Smile” artist, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, in a group exhibit, and Kevin Blythe Sampson, in a solo show.
For a VIP-guided experience, the M&T Bank Murals & Martinis™ Public Art Tour makes a return appearance at this year’s Festival. Art enthusiasts will navigate Newark’s most notable street art throughout city neighborhoods by bus.
Visit newarkartsfestival.com for a complete listing of Festival events. To keep up-to-date on all the latest news from Newark Arts, sign up for our newsletter at newarkarts.org and follow @Newark_Arts on Twitter and @NewarkArts on Facebook and Instagram. #NAF2018
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