Newark’s Vibrant Cultural Diversity Swaddles the City in Prolific Street Art
Artists have been busier than ever creating spirited public art works throughout Newark for the enjoyment of residents, commuters, and visitors. Here is a roundup of 10 must-see murals created in Newark in the last 12 months that reflect the city’s cultural diversity and tell stories relevant to the community.
1 – “Black Newark” (2023)
Artist: GAIA and Ernest Shaw
Location: Newark Symphony Hall
Baltimore-based GAIA and Ernest Shaw’s mural honors performing artists who have contributed to the rich legacy of the historic venue and Newark’s arts community. Over 100 feet long, the mural wraps three sides of the nearly 100-year-old building. Depicted are iconic Newark natives Sarah Vaughn and Queen Latifa, salsa music legend Celia Cruz, beloved poet Amiri Baraka, and others. The back wall features Jimi Hendrix who was scheduled to perform at Newark Symphony Hall on April 5, 1968- one day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. After playing one improvisation that he dedicated to MLK, Hendrix left the stage.
2 – “Sankofa” (2023)
Artist: Mohammad “Moh” Awudu
Location: Treat Place
Mohammad Awudu, contemporary artist from Ghana, painted this mural for the Sister Cities International Initiative which strengthens Newark’s connections with global cities through artistic exchange. Titled “Sankofa,” meaning “go back and get it,” the 4,000-square-foot, aerosol-painted mural celebrates the artist’s West African culture. The design centers a woman adorned in a vibrant turban, surrounded by African iconology and Islamic calligraphy. Some of the symbols represent unity, the supremacy of God, toughness, and perseverance.
3 – “Sound the Rainbow” (2023)
Artist: Local community members
Location: Treat Place between Branford Place and William Street
The year 2023 has been a record-breaking year in terms of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in America. Using public art as a form of resistance and solidarity, on Saturday, July 15, 2023, families and community members of all ages gathered and painted this two-block, 550-foot long asphalt Pride mural. Reflecting design elements of the famous 6-color rainbow Pride flag and the new Progress Pride flag, “Sound the Rainbow“ is symbolic of inclusion, diversity, and love. It is a statement that everyone is welcome in Newark and deserves to be seen.
4 – “L’enfant De La Divinte” (2023)
Artist: Hans Lundy and Malcolm Rolling
Location: 169 Clinton Avenue
Local artists Lundy and Rolling are intentional about the messages in their energetic murals gracing walls throughout Essex County. Painted on the recently sold Riviera Hotel, “L’enfant De La Divinite”, meaning “Children of the Divine,” illustrates healthy relationships between black fathers and their children. The artists are hoping to bring awareness for establishing family centers in black communities that focus on redemption and grace. Surrounded in a lush green environment, the mural site feels pastoral despite being on a busy street.
5 – “Waves / Passaic (immigration and history)”
(part 1: 2019, part 2: 2023)
Artist: Eirini Linardaki
Location: Treat Place
Originally from Athens, Greece, artist Eirini Linardaki lived in Paris, Berlin, NYC, and cities around the globe before making her home in Newark. Created for Four Corners Public Arts, her mural addresses how waves of immigration have shaped and elevated Newark. Linardaki encapsulates these “waves” as multicolor patterns inspired by fabrics from the many cultures that have inhabited this land, beginning with the indigenous Lenni Lenape peoples. Using the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in Newark’s origin story as a metaphor, the colorful patterns flow down the sidewalk like a mighty river before climbing up and across a wall on Treat Place.
6 – “Unity Gol” (2022)
Artist: Diegumberrto
Location: 529-531 Market Street
Diegumberrto’s mural celebrates Newark’s local soccer communities and the local arena with illustrations of confetti throwing fans, focused soccer players, and Newark landmarks. “Soccer is a sport that unifies people of all ethnic backgrounds, cultures, and languages. The mural embodies the love of the game and adds a level of excitement as people gather to walk across the bridge to Red Bull Arena,” said the artist. Born and raised in Cañar, Ecuador, Diegumberrto moved to Newark in 2020.
7 – Tame One Tribute (2022)
Artist: RORSHACH
Location: Newark Riverfront Park
RORSHACH art collective, formed by two native-Newarkers, is known for blending figurative realism and abstract expressionist graffiti in bold color combinations. Located alongside several other legal graffiti walls in beautiful Riverfront Park, RORSHACH’s tribute to Tame One is a fitting memorial to the beloved hip-hop artist from Newark who died in 2022. Tame One was a prolific graffiti writer and a member of the Artifacts, Leak Bros, and hip-hop supergroup The Weathermen. Riverfront Park, which offers free events year-round, recently hosted the Brick City Jam Festival celebrating 50 years of hip-hop featuring DJing, graffiti, breakdancing, and emceeing produced by local artists.
8 – “Fotos y Recuerdos” (2022)
Artist: José R. Beltrán Ramos
Location: Mt. Prospect Place between 2nd Avenue and Mt. Prospect Avenue
José R. Beltrán Ramos, also known as “Flavor One,” painted this mural for Newark’s Sister Cities program which strengthens connections with global cities through artistic exchange. Painted on a 500-foot-long retainer wall located in North Newark, “Fotos y Recuerdos” – which means “Pictures and Memories” – features a filmstrip that spans the length of the block, using each frame to highlight landmarks, events, and traditions of the City of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico. The imagery includes San Sebastián’s City Hall and History Museum, Hacienda La Fe Agricultural Museum, the Coquí frog that is native to Puerto Rico, the Gozalandia Waterfalls, and more.
9 – “HOPE” (2022)
Artists: Patricia Cazorla and Nancy Saleme
Location: Intersection of Treat Place and Maiden Lane
Cazorla + Saleme, creating contemporary Latin-American art, are a Venezuelan aunt and niece collaborative art duo who have been working in Newark for over a decade. Their work often appears whimsical, but beneath the surface they address challenging social issues surrounding migration, identity, and equality. HOPE is a mural installation that includes a typographic sculpture surrounded by colorful, boldly painted patterns on the sidewalks and walls. HOPE was designed during the pandemic when the artists considered the community’s needs. “Through the bright and fluorescent colors of HOPE, we commemorate our communities’ resilience and create a space for joy for all,” said the artists.
10 – “Work and Serve the Hour, Lifting as We Climb” (2022)
Artist: Noelle Lorraine Williams
Location: Project for Empty Space at 800 Broad Street
Work and Serve the Hour, Lifting as We Climb celebrates the contributions of five New Jersey-based Black women suffragists who advocated to pass the 19th Amendment allowing Americans the right to vote regardless of gender. Williams’ award-winning design is installed on the outside of art organization Project for Empty Space on Broad Street, a main avenue in the Newark Downtown District. This location is not only highly visible, but also historically significant. Many of New Jersey’s most prominent Black suffragists lived, worked, or volunteered in this neighborhood, as well as other parts of Newark, Jersey City.
—Rachel Fawn Alban
Explore more murals with the interactive Newark Arts Public Art Map, featuring over 100 murals and installations throughout the City of Newark. Visit Newark Arts at newarkarts.org/publicartmap to see more murals.
