My new motto, “travel the world and make it art!”
One of the best ways to explore a new city and get a sense of its history is through the exploration of its art. And I did just that this past weekend, as I explored Newark’s Arts Festival.
(Follow #NAF2019, @newarkarts and @cityofnewarknj for full coverage of the event).
Taking in Newark street art with Lauren Craig
Day one was fun filled and packed with events. I started my evening with Lauren Craig, former attorney, “Glambassador” of Newark, marketing manager at Newark Arts and author of 100 Things to Do in Newark Before You Die. She hosted the 5th annual “Brown Girl Art Crawl.” The women were phenomenal and gorgeous in various iterations of shades of pink!
Festival Headquarters Pop Up
Paired with amazing arts and entertainment. We were lead into vibrant, rich culture rooted spaces with representation of self expression in the purest form all around downtown Newark.
Itinerary:
6 pm – Hahne’s Building Pop Up, 46 Halsey Street
6:45 pm – Bridge Arts Festival Pop Up, 91 Halsey Street
7:30 pm – Festival Headquarters Pop Up, 1180 Raymond Blvd
8:15 pm – Femme Curator Arts Pop Up, 744 Broad St
9 pm – DROP DJ dance party at Noodle Shop, 218 Market St. (feat. DJs Blissedout Beats and DJ Butta) DROP DJ dance party
Next, I headed to @RyArMoPhotography for his exhibition refreshingly dubbed as “a love letter to black women. Formally titled “Black Women Are...” it was a dedication in mixed media form, to black women; curated by black men. It’s was multidimensional and impactful. I felt seen, felt, represented and heard throughout the experience.
Enjoying a moment with Ryan Monroe - Entrepreneur and visionary.
And then after traveling a full day, having a miscommunication with my Airbnb host, and having to lug my luggage across Newark, I was officially done of the day. Stay tuned for my next blog as I break down day #2 and day #3 of my trip!
Newark Arts Festival 2019, was powered by Prudential, United Airlines and produced by Newark Arts under the direction of Jermey Johnson. Celebrating its 18th year as a free citywide arts festival in New Jersey’s largest city during the week of October 10 through 13, 2019. NAF was recently named Favorite Visual Arts Festival in the 2019 JerseyArts.com People’s Choice Awards and each year, the Festival puts a spotlight on Newark’s artistic and cultural institutions, features both nationally recognized and also emerging, local creatives, and provides attendees the opportunity to shop and purchase the work of over 100 artists in their open studios. Alongside the visual arts, music, dance, theater and spoken word can be found throughout the festival, as well as hands-on arts activities for youth.