Newark Scene and Heard : Newark Black Artists Oral History Project

Nette talks to Bianca Monet about working as an artist Newark, NJ. Photo Credit : Leon Anthony James Newark Scene and Heard: Narratives of an Artist’s Community

5 October - 27 October 2012
Gallery Aferro’s
 New Media Room, 
73 Market St
 Newark, NJ
curated by 
Bianca Monet

Narratives of an Artist’s Community serves as the first public display for the Newark Black Artists (NBA) Oral History Project which is dedicated to collecting and preserving first-hand narratives of Black visual artists from and/or currently located in the City of Newark, New Jersey.

Featuring artists Élan, leon anthony james, Nia I’man Smith, 

Newark Scene Heard is a mixed-media exhibit curated by Bianca Monet that fuses together artist’s audio recordings with music, photography, video, and painting, to create a capstone of an artist community often forgotten.

This intergenerational endeavor involves participation from emerging and established artists representing a myriad of personal truths. Audio recordings feature conversations with Eleta J. Caldwell, Kevin Darmanie, Gladys Barker Grauer, Steve Green, Mansa K. Mussa, Nettie Forné Thomas, Bisa W. Washington, and Noelle Lorraine Williams.

The project creates a tapestry of ideals illuminating Newark’s cultural, social economic and artistic histories.