Foundation Announces Call for Artist for Black Women's Mural

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's ArtsBergen initiative announces an open call to mural artists. An artist is needed for the "Women's Mural Project: Celebrating Black Suffragists and Black Women in Englewood, NJ". The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) is a not-for-profit organization based in Hackensack, New Jersey.

The NNJCF's ArtsBergen initiative in collaboration with its community partners -- The Women’s Rights Information Center, Metro Community Center, and the Woman’s Club of Englewood -- will implement the project. The mural will be painted on the east-facing wall of The Women's Rights Information Center building on Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood, New Jersey.

The project includes open workshops to capture and elevate the stories of Black women in Englewood, relating to the lives and accomplishments of Black suffragists. The mural will celebrate their voices, raise awareness about Black suffragists, and encourage civil discourse within the community.

The NNJCF seeks an artist or an artist team knowledgeable about creative placemaking or with experience working closely with community members, using a collaborative creative process to translate community input into public art. Women artists, who are culturally connected to the subject matter, are strongly encouraged to apply. Local artists are also encouraged to apply. The selected artist or artist team will receive $20,000 in total to design and paint the mural, plus a supply budget.

Artists applying to the call should submit an application by Friday, September 10, 2021. For further information about the project, an estimated timeline, selection criteria, and to apply, go to bit.ly/WomenMuralCall. Learn more about the Foundation and its ArtsBergen initiative on its website, www.nnjcf.org. For further information, contact nnjcf@nnjcf.org or call 201-568-5608.

Major support for the project is made possible from an AARP Community Challenge Grant, Valley Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, and PNC Bank.

ArtsBergen Initiative

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s ArtsBergen initiative, a regional arts alliance, works with various stakeholders. These stakeholders encompass artists, arts organizations, businesses and municipal leaders, who use the arts to shape the social, physical, cultural, and economic identity of communities. Creative placemaking, a community-led, arts-driven approach, is used to increase vibrancy, spur economic development, and build capacity among residents to take ownership of their communities.

ArtsBergen is the only initiative in Bergen County, New Jersey offering a range of services in creative placemaking. The initiative has partnered with multiple municipalities facilitating creative teams, developing public art and creative placemaking plans, and directing and managing public art projects to preserve and express community culture. For more information about the ArtsBergen initiative, visit www.nnjcf.org/artsbergen/.

For more information about the NNJCF, visit www.nnjcf.org, send an email to nnjcf@nnjcf.org, or call (201) 568-5608. Follow the NNJCF on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.