NJPAC TO ENLIVEN DOWNTOWN NEWARK LAUNCHES A PUBLIC ART INITIATIVE CO-OPTING NEW WORKS THAT DEPICT STORIES IN SOUND, MOVEMENT AND COMMUNITY

• By Mabel Pais

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) launches a new public art initiative and its plan to commission 13 original artworks for NJPAC’s redeveloped campus in downtown Newark.

On November 20, NJPAC released a Request for Proposals in partnership with local arts nonprofit Project for Empty Space (projectforemptyspace.org) and design firm WeShouldDoItAll (wsdia.com), outlining the vision and scope of the project, and opportunities for artists to contribute.

TRANSFORMING DOWNTOWN NEWARK

As part of a transformative redevelopment project that has redesigned the entirety of the Arts Center’s 12-acre campus, the initiative will bring more works of art to the already-vibrant streets of Newark’s downtown Arts and Education District.

The new neighborhood now under construction around NJPAC’s iconic theaters will include ArtSide, a 350-unit residential and retail development, and the Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, a three-story home for NJPAC’s Arts Education, community programs and rehearsal studios.

The new public artworks will enliven all these spaces with installations that reflect the rhythm, resilience and vitality of Newark’s communities. The project, called ‘Stories in Sound, Movement and Community,’ weaves together the three core elements of NJPAC’s efforts to  bring communities together through the performing arts. Each new work will be site-specific and will offer an interactive experience that celebrates the city’s artistic legacy and contemporary expression.

“Newark’s art defines our community and serves as a shorthand for where we’ve been, who we are, where we’re going and what we want for ourselves,” says Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “It is a highly valued, cultural priority here, which explains why our city was ranked eighth in the nation in the 2024 Arts Vibrancy Index. NJPAC shares this creative lifeblood with us and continuously embraces each new cohort of artists and creators in its ongoing history. It is one of the many reasons we are so proud to have NJPAC at the heart of our downtown.”

PROCESS

NJPAC identified a number of core themes through community meetings, roundtables and surveys, reflecting widely shared and uniquely local perspectives on Newark’s identity. Each commission will explore how stories of the past, present and future are told through music, dance, spoken word and performance, highlighting Newark as a city that is constantly evolving.

“We want the visual arts to be an integral part of our new campus,” says John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC. “ArtSide and the Cooperman Center were designed to include spaces that would serve as frames for public works of art, like the archway over one of the new streets that crosses through ArtSide. NJPAC has not, until now, had a formal way to engage with the muralists and visual artists who are so vital to Newark, and we look forward to engaging with the city’s larger creative community through this project.”

INVITATION TO ARTISTS

NJPAC invites artists who live or work within its core audience zones (in and around Newark, and the greater New Jersey and New York markets) to submit proposals for these new pieces. The commissioned works will be installed across exterior and interior sites on the NJPAC campus, including in prominent public-facing locations that engage residents, visitors and audiences alike.

INFORMATION SESSION FOR APPLICATION

A virtual artist information session will be held on December 10, 2025, at 3PM to introduce the initiative and guide artists through the application process. Proposals are due by January 19, 2026, with selected works scheduled for installation beginning in summer 2026 and continuing through winter 2027. Full project briefs, submission details and the link to apply are available on NJPAC’s website at njpac.org/publicart.

NEWARK TODAY AND TOMORROW

Through this initiative, NJPAC reaffirms its commitment to contributing to Newark’s vibrant arts scene while creating meaningful opportunities for visual artists and designers to collaborate, imagine and inspire. Stories in Sound, Movement, and Community invites artists to explore how shared histories, familiar rhythms and new voices can combine to tell the story of Newark today, and envision the Newark of the future.

“At Project for Empty Space, we believe in the powerful impact of partnership. Our history of public art is built on collaboration — with peer organizations, culture workers and audiences alike,” says Project for Empty Space Co-Directors Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol. “We are honored to partner with NJPAC on this program, which will have a meaningful and lasting impact not only on their new campus but on the broader public art community and the residents of Newark and beyond.”

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC),

NJPAC located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is an anchor cultural institution for both the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey. It is an artistic, cultural, educational and civic center where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day.

NJPAC brings communities together both on and off of our campus – on stages, in schools and community settings – providing access to the arts for all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city.

Through its extensive Social Impact programs, NJPAC leverages the arts to advance positive outcomes in education, health and well-being, civic engagement and community development. NJPAC has attracted more than 12.7 million visitors (including more than two million children) since opening its doors in 1997. Learn more at njpac.org.

Project for Empty Space (PES)

PES (projectforemptyspace.org) is a multifaceted arts organization in Newark, NJ and Chinatown, Manhattan that includes Exhibitions, Artists Residencies, Public Art initiatives, subsidized Artist Studios, and Artist Professional Development/Granting opportunities. PES’s program centers social discourse, including narratives that have been historically and systemically erased. They strive to course-correct historic instances of forced marginality, inequity, and invisibility, supporting socially-oriented artists while maintaining a commitment to both reflecting on the past and envisioning new possibilities for the future. Learn more at projectforemptyspace.org.

WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA)

WSDIA (wsdia.org) is a New York-based multidisciplinary design studio working across spatial design, branding, environmental graphics, exhibition design, and digital platforms. The studio explicitly rejects specialization, instead focusing on solving problems through whatever disciplinary lens best serves the work. WSDIA’s clients include Nike, Design Within Reach (DWR), Lincoln Center, Samsung, and cultural institutions including the Schomburg Center and Speed Art Museum. Learn more at wsdia.com.

Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, Social Issues, Education, Business, Health and Wellness, and Cuisine.