DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY! ARTSBERGEN OF ENGLEWOOD CALLING ARTISTS: HACKENSACK LOOKING FOR FIVE ARTISTS TO SHOWCASE THEIR WORK ON CONSTRUCTION BOARDS

ArtsBergen, an initiative of the Englewood-based Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, has issued a call for New Jersey artists to create a mural on a fence surrounding the construction site at 76 Main Street in Hackensack, New Jersey. ArtsBergen is working with the Hackensack Upper Main Street Alliance on the downtown beautification project, the Main Gateway Mural.

The Hackensack Creative Team, a partnership between the Hackensack Upper Main Alliance and ArtsBergen with coaching from the National Consortium for Creative Placemaking of Union, New Jersey, requests submissions from visual artists for the project. Eric Anderson, CEO of Alexander Anderson Real Estate Group, is the property owner and is supporting the project.

ArtsBergen is recruiting the artists, managing the submission process and will be working with its partners to implement the project. Five artists will be selected to create murals across seven boards each for a total of 35 four by eight foot boards. The project’s theme is Hackensack’s rich cultural history and its vision for a more vibrant, cleaner, greener and healthier city.

The murals will be completed by August 2015 and on display during the building’s reconstruction. They will then be moved to other construction sites throughout the city, as approximately 1000 new multi-housing units are built on and near Main Street over the next two years. Hackensack is in the process of transforming its downtown with additional residential construction contemplated in the near future.

The project will beautify the neighborhood and property site, engage passers-by, and act as a beacon of the City and the Upper Main Street Alliance’s endorsement of arts and culture as a powerful tool to transform, connect, and serve communities. “As with other cities that have reinvented themselves, we recognize that art is a key ingredient in Hackensack’s successful redevelopment into a hip urban community to live, work and play,” said Jerry Lombardo, Chairman of the Upper Main Alliance.

“We are pleased at how well creative placemaking is taking hold in the city. When we introduced the concept, Hackensack leaders quickly grasped that the arts improve residents’ quality of life and enhance the economy. Arts are good for business. The mural is a first step. ArtsBergen looks forward to celebrating the Hackensack Renaissance as it unfolds,” said Michael Shannon, President of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.

For more information or to submit an application for the Main Gateway Mural project, visit the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s web site, by the deadline, Friday, June 19.

Further information about ArtsBergen and the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation is available on the organization’s web site and on Facebook. Additional details about the Hackensack Upper Main Street Alliance are available online and on Facebook. Learn more about the Hackensack Creative Team.