Newark Community Turning ‘Desolate’ Alley Into Art Mural

NEWARK, NJ — It will be an art gallery without walls, its creators say.

On Thursday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District (LPCCD) announced that the “Lincoln Park Gallery Without Walls” project has been selected as part of the city’s Love Your Block initiative.

The plan? To transform a “dimly-lit, desolate alley” into a work of art.

According to city officials, the site of the future mural – located at 6 Crawford Street – sits diagonally from the defunct cWOW (City Without Walls Gallery), which was New Jersey’s oldest nonprofit alternative art space based in Lincoln Park. It’s right behind the historic New Ark Cathedral Church (known as La Vid Verdadera en La Catedral New Ark, Lincoln Park) and the Dryden Mansion, which was the primary home of John F. Dryden, the founder of Prudential Insurance Company and a former U.S. senator from New Jersey. The alleyway itself sits in the middle of Lincoln Park’s “Little Five Points,” a convergence of Lincoln Park Place, Crawford Street, South Halsey Street, Bleeker Street and Washington Street.

It’s seen better times, officials said:

“Prior to the opening of The Willows at Symphony Hall, Little Five Points was a dimly-lit, desolate strip with little residential foot traffic. The area was on the rise until the closure of cWOW (City Without Walls) Gallery and then the global pandemic struck.”

After the city’s mandatory coronavirus lockdowns and the lack of foot traffic gave way to an uptick in “COVID crime,” a plan was hatched to reclaim the space. Now, the city’s Love Your Block program and the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District are taking back the alley and turning it into a usable space named after the community it will serve – the “Lincoln Park Gallery Without Walls.”

According to officials, the space pays homage to City Without Walls Gallery and is inspired by the “allery” movement – turning alleys into outdoor gallery spaces.

THE MURAL

“It is truly an honor to see my work win on so many levels,” said the winning muralist, Kween Moore (see the design below).

“This work belongs to my grandmother, my mother, all of my aunts and sisters who have come before me,” Moore said. “Thank you to Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, the City of Newark, and all project supporters and partners for creating space for Black and Brown girl artists like me.”

LPCCD Executive Director Anthony Smith said Moore’s ‘Black Girls Dream’ answered a call for “bright, loud, bold and uplifting.”

“It balances the masculine desolate energy of an underused outdoor space with powerfully regal feminine divine energy,” Smith said. “The women in our community get to see themselves in a positive light through the lens of visual art.”

The “Lincoln Park Gallery Without Walls” project was produced by Kim J. Ford, founder of BRND Marketing Group LLC, and Armisey Smith, artistic project manager. It will open with a ribbon cutting and brief program on Saturday, Oct. 2.

“It really is wonderful to see the combined energy of the City of Newark’s Love Your Block program and the new ‘Black Girls Dream’ mural,” Baraka said. “The mural program our administration has created is expanding the creativity of our artists, inspires our community and helps revitalize our city.”

• See related article: Public Art In Newark Tells Powerful Stories About Social Justice
• See related article: Find Some Of Newark's Best Public Art With This Digital Map

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