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BEFEATUREDONNJPAC’SREIMAGINEDCAMPUS

April 22, 2026

PICTURING THE SOUL OF A CITY

NEW PUBLIC ART FOR DOWNTOWN NEWARK TO BE FEATURED ON NJPAC’S REIMAGINED CAMPUS

More than a dozen artists commissioned by the Arts Center to create works reflecting the city’s complex and inspiring past, present and future

Seven Newark-based artists are among those chosen via juried selection process

 

Newark, NJ — April 22, 2026 — The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in  partnership with Newark’s Project for Empty Space (PES), is proud to announce the names  of 13 artists and artist collectives from New Jersey and New York who have been  commissioned to create original, site-specific public works of art that will be installed by  2027 on the Arts Center’s redeveloped campus in downtown Newark. 

The artists include award-winning painters, print-makers, sculptors and muralists with  pieces on display across the region, creatives undertaking their first large-form public works  —and one artist, Danielle Scott, who, as a senior at Newark Arts High School, painted a  portion of the community mural displayed on fencing around the NJPAC construction site  when the Arts Center was built three decades ago. 

Other participants include Nina Chanel Abney, now an internationally renowned artist,  whose first public work was a mural included in the 2016 Gateways to Newark: Portraits project on McCarter Highway, and Layqa Nuna Yawar, who completed a monumental,  350-foot-long mural in Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal A in 2022. 

This announcement follows a multi-year community engagement initiative in collaboration  with creative agency WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA) that brought together Newark residents,  creative professionals and families involved in NJPAC’s Arts Education programs to inform  the design of NJPAC’s new campus.  

Insights from those efforts, along with advisory input and staff engagement, informed a  competitive Request for Proposals process launched in November 2025, which attracted  hundreds of submissions from artists across the region. The commissioned artworks,  inspired by the theme Stories in Sound, Movement and Community, span a variety of media  and will offer interactive experiences centered on the initiative’s core ideas. 

“The quality of the proposals was exceptional, and this group of artists truly reflects the  spirit of our community,” said John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC. “Their work  will make art a part of daily life in this district, connecting the creativity inside our theaters  with the neighborhood outside.” 

The artworks will be integrated into the Cooperman Family Arts Education and  Community Center, a new purpose-built home for the Arts Center’s arts education and  social impact work, and ArtSide, a new mixed-use residential and retail complex —both  currently under construction —and throughout the NJPAC campus. The awarded proposals,  selected by two distinguished juries, will form the visual soul of NJPAC’s transformed 12-acre  campus and complement the architecture of Barton Myers (who designed NJPAC a  generation ago), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (ArtSide) and Weiss/Manfredi (Cooperman  Center).  

“The creative arts have always been at the heart of NJPAC and this new collection will  continue that legacy by showcasing the work of local artists,” said Kim Bernardin, Director  of LMXD. “We look forward to seeing these works come to life as the redeveloped campus  takes shape.”  

Installation of the artworks will coincide with the completion of elements of the ArtSide and  Cooperman Center projects throughout 2026 and 2027.  

“This process began with listening — grounding the vision for this public art program in the  voices of the community,” said Co-Directors Rebecca Pauline Jampol and Jasmine Wahi  of Project for Empty Space. “Through the RFP process, we engaged artists who understand  that public art is not just about aesthetics, but about belonging. These works welcome  people in, reflect NJPAC’s mission and honor the stories that define Newark.” 

From large-scale outdoor installations to rehearsal studio murals, these projects will connect  the Arts Center’s theaters with the street life of the downtown district. Each artist will also  have a specific, tailored engagement with the community, including workshops,  photography projects and archival research. 

“Projects like this show how public art can transform everyday spaces into places of  connection and meaning,” said fayemi shakur, Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs for the  City of Newark. “When artists are invited to shape the public realm, they help tell the story  of a city —reflecting its people, its history and its future.” 

In addition, NJPAC’s collaboration with WSDIA led the agency to create two major anchor  artworks for the Cooperman Center: a graphic curtain installation spanning the building’s 

picture windows, and a monumental wall sculpture depicting an abstracted soundwave of  a Queen Latifah song.  

 

The selected artists and artist collectives include: 

  • Nina Chanel Abney (Cold Spring, NY): ArtSide, Underpass Installation
  • Eirini Linardaki (Newark, NJ): ArtSide, Retail Windows Vinyl Installation
  • Layqa Nuna Yawar (Newark, NJ): NJPAC Exterior East Facade Mural
  • Malcolm Rolling, Hans Lundy & Kaishon Way | YENDOR (Newark, NJ): 31 Mulberry  Street Facade Mural 
  • Danielle Scott (Jersey City, NJ): Cooperman Center, Interior Elevator Mural
  • Damien Davis (Newark, NJ): Cooperman Center, Floor 1, Reading Room Mural
  • Angela Pilgrim (Newark, NJ): Cooperman Center, Floor 1, Vestibule Mural
  • Haemee Han (Mountainside, NJ): Cooperman Center, Floor 2, Corridors Mural
  • Shoshanna Weinberger (Newark, NJ): Cooperman Center, Floor 2, Vestibule Mural
  • Matilda Forsberg (Maplewood, NJ): Cooperman Center, Floor 2, Vestibule Mural
  • Kimmarii (Brooklyn, NY): Military Park Garage, Level 1 Mural 
  • Antoinette Ellis-Williams (Newark, NJ): Military Park Garage, Level 2 Mural
  • Tom Nussbaum (East Orange, NJ): Military Park Garage, Level 3 Mural  

 

Biographies of each artist, their thoughts about this project, and links to their online  work can be found at njpac.org/publicart.  

The selection process was guided by two distinguished juries comprised of: 
Alliyah Allen — Independent Curator 
Alyson Maier Lokuta — AVP, Arts & Well-Being, NJPAC 
Ashley Mays — Chief Marketing Officer, Newark Alliance; President, Newark Happening Chantal Fischzang — Interdisciplinary Designer; Associate Professor of Communication  Design, Rutgers University–Newark; Co-Director, Design Consortium 
Chelsea Keys — Senior Director, Social Impact, NJPAC 
Elena C. Muñoz-Rodriguez — Assistant Curator, Latinx & Latin American Art, The Newark  Museum of Art 
Eyesha Marable — Assistant Vice President, Community Engagement, NJPAC fayemi shakur — Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs, City of Newark Jennifer Tsukayama — Vice President of Arts Education, NJPAC 
John Schreiber — President and CEO, NJPAC 
Kim Bernardin — Director, LMXD 
Kitab Rollins — AVP, Performance and Broadcast Rentals, NJPAC 
Lauren Craig — Executive Director, Newark Arts 
Patricia Ryan — Senior Creative Director, NJPAC
Rebecca Pauline Jampol — Co-Director, Project for Empty Space 
Sherri-Ann Butterfield — Senior Vice President, Social Impact, NJPAC 
Stefon Harris — Co-Director, Express Newark; Founder & Director, Harmony Lab Tamara Remedios — Director of Neighborhood Impact, Audible 
Tim Lizura — Executive Vice President, Real Estate & Capital Projects, NJPAC Victoria Walker — Director, Arts and Education District 
Weiss/Manfredi — Multidisciplinary New York City–based design practice, Cooperman  Center architect 

 

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About NJPAC 
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (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. 

About PES  
Project for Empty Space (PES) is a multifaceted arts organization that includes Exhibitions,  Artists Residencies, Public Art initiatives, subsidized Artist Studios, and Artist Professional  Development/Granting opportunities. Our programs lean into social discourse, including  narratives that have been historically and systemically erased. We strive to course-correct  historic instances of forced marginality, inequity, and invisibility. Today, in our efforts to  support socially-oriented artists, we maintain a commitment to holding space for both  looking back and looking to new potentials and futures. 

About LMXD 
LMXD is the mixed-income and market-focused member of the L+M family of companies,  one of the nation’s leading builders and developers of affordable housing. Building upon a  40-year track record of civically impactful projects such as Essex Crossing in New York and  Banner Lane in Washington, D.C., LMXD’s mission is to create transformative mixed-income  and mixed-use projects with a particular focus on culture, community, and sustainability in  the Northeast and across the country. Visit https://lmxd.com to learn more.