Artist Rents Billboard In Newark For A Year To Inspire ‘Hope’

NEWARK, NJ — Charlie Hewitt’s art has been displayed as part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. But he’s chosen a different venue for his latest effort: a billboard in downtown Newark.

The imagery is simple-but-large in scope. A single word – “Hopeful” – is lit up in a colorful, eye-catching font on a 4-by-48-foot billboard on the southbound McCarter Highway. It will remain there for a full year, during which he expects to capture 11 million views, Hewitt announced earlier this month.

Hewitt, a Maine native, said he rented the billboard as part of his “Hopeful Project,” which has placed humongous sculptures bearing the “Hopeful” message across the nation, some weighing 600 pounds and measuring 60-feet across.

In the early winter of 2021, Hewitt said he realized that his message could spread further on billboards. He then partnered with OUTFRONT Media, an outdoor advertising company, to render his sculpture into billboard format.

Hewitt then chose two of OUTFRONT’s billboard locations in New Jersey – one just past the exit of the tunnel and the other in Newark.

“I realized that I could spread my message much more quickly on billboards,” he said. “The initial billboard campaign, which ran over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, was so successful that I decided that ‘Hopeful’ should live in Newark for the next twelve months and rented a billboard along with my art dealer, Jim Kempner.”

“My wish is for more people to experience the art from their cars, in their walks and in a social media campaign … and I am hopeful that I will find more collaborators who will help me spread the word “Hopeful” across the country,” Hewitt said.

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