Layqa Nuna Yawar

Scenes from “On and Off the Streets: Urban Art New Jersey” at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ

February 22, 2022

The following post is by Newark-based arts educator, writer and photographer Rachel Alban. 

I returned this past Saturday to the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ to revisit On and Off the Streets: Urban Art New Jersey which remains on view through this Sunday, February 27. Curated by Lois Stavsky with my assistance, it is “the first museum exhibition to examine the duality of New Jersey artists whose creative versatility extends from the street to the studio.”

Working with Lois on this exhibit was meaningful on so many levels. It gave me the opportunity to connect with artists throughout NJ after a year of living almost entirely virtually. And introducing some of our favorite artists to new audiences and presenting them in such an elegant setting was especially wonderful.

The above photograph featuring a couple viewing a detail of Rorshach‘s huge mural was taken this past Saturday. Several more photos follow — some captured this past weekend, and others as far back as late summer.

Flemington-based artist James Kelewae aka Luv One to the left of the Newark-based duo Rorshach

Jersey City native Will Power, segment of his mural “1984,” a throwback to his childhood

Multidisciplinary artist Clarence Rich to the left of Jersey City-based Emilio Florentine

Newark-based Layqa Nuna Yawar painting the US golden dollar coin depicting a representation of Sacagawea and her son

The late Newark-based legendary multidisciplinary artist Jerry Gant, a segment of a special installation of his works

Jersey City-based Mr Mustart’s strikingly intriguing mural captures this visitor

Noted stencil master Joe Iurato to the left of Jersey City-based artist and arts educator Catherine Hart

New Brunswick native RH Doaz with a glimpse of Catherine’s mural

Located at 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown, NJ, the Morris Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00AM to 5:00PM. Just a few more days remain to check out On and Off the Streets: Urban Art Jersey

Generous support for this exhibition is provided by the Joseph Robert Foundation and Loop Colors.

Photos: Rachel Alban

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Four Corners Public Arts Project in Newark, NJ with: Manuel Acevedo, Gera Luz, Layqa Nuna Yawar, Kelley Prevard, Rorshach Art Collective, Armisey Smith, Jo-el Lopez, Sue Daly, Gabe Ribeiro & More

April 14, 2020

Named for the historical Downtown Newark district in which the mural project is located, the Four Corners Public Arts initiative has brought over a dozen alluring murals to Treat Place and Beaver Street in Downtown Newark — a short work from Newark Penn Station. Referencing the neighborhood and its distinct history, the artworks were conceived and painted largely by local artists.

The mural featured above, a tribute to the late neighborhood legend, Jerry Gant a.k.a 2 Nasty Nas, was painted by Newark-native Manuel Acevedo. Several more murals sponsored by  Four Corners Public Arts — an ongoing collaboration between the City via Invest Newark, the Newark Downtown District (NDD), Newark Arts and local property owners RBH Group and Paramount Assets — follow:

Newark-raised, Brooklyn-based Gera Luz, Sacred Water

Layqa Nuna Yawar and Kelley Prevard in collaboration with A Womb of Violet — a Newark-based Black women’s artist collective –, “Magnitude and Bond”

The Rorshach Art Collective — Newark natives Andre Leon and Robert Ramone, –“Radiance”

Brooklyn-based Armisey Smith, “The Natural World of the Lenape,” to the left of Puerto Rico-born, Paterson-raised  Jo-el Lopez, “The Guardian of the City”

Atlantic City-based Sue Daly in collaboration with The Barat Foundation, “Sewing a Path to Freedom“

Newark-based Gabe Ribeiro, “Newark Is for Artists”

Photo credits: 1, 2, 5 & 7 Rachel Fawn Phillips; 3, 4 & 6 Lois Stavsky

Special thanks to Rachel Fawn Phillips for introducing me to this project.

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Celebrate & Support the 2017 Expansion of “Fiesta de Colores” in Ecuador

September 27, 2017

A global art movement connecting world-wide artists with local artists in Ecuador, Fiesta de Colores brought together 25 international, national and local artists to collaborate with the community of Canoa last year. Six months after the earthquake had destroyed much of the Ecuadorian coast and killed hundreds of people, Fiesta de Colores created an outdoor mural gallery of over 30 large-scale murals, while sharing skills and ideas with the community.

This November the project will be expanded with an additional 30 murals, along with a deepening of the partnership with the local high school. It will also be extended to the Amazonian region of Ecuador, where artists and the community will work together to create public art projects and bio-murals to promote environmental awareness.

Tomorrow, September 28,  you can support the project by joining Fiesta de Colores, the Public Service Artists Guild, and Chemistry Creative for an evening of art, music, food, spirits and camaraderie.  Tickets can be purchased here. If you are unable to attend the fundraiser, but would still like to support these projects, you can donate to its online fundraiser here.

What follows are a few of the many works that will be on exhibit and for sale at tomorrow’s fundraiser:

Gaia

Layqa Nuna Yawar

JT Liss

The event takes place from 7-11PM at Chemistry Creative, 315 Ten Eyck in Williamsburg

Note: The first three photos are from Fiesta de Colores, 2016

1 Don Rimx

2 Damaris Cruz

3 Don Rimx, Layqa Nuna Yawar and Gera Luz

All images courtesy Kristy McCarthy

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A Benefit Fundraiser for Young New Yorkers Honoring Michael K. Williams with: Icy and Sot, Guerrilla Girls, Jordan Seiler, Kara Walker, Distort, Nicholas Galanin, Shepard Fairey & more

May 1, 2017

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Committed to using art to transform the ways that teens are prosecuted and sentenced in New York’s adult criminal justice system, Young New Yorkers’ fifth annual Silent Art Auction will fund its grassroots arts program for teens facing criminal charges as adults. Curated by Layqa Nuna Yawar and Ann Lewis, the fundraiser features works by over 80 artists. On Wednesday, May 10th, the Annual Silent Auction will take place from 7-10pm at 548 W. 28th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Its special honoree is the wonderfully gifted, Brooklyn-based actor and activist Michael K. Williams.  Among the artworks to be auctioned are several with a distinct political consciousness. Featured above is Icy and Sot, Stop Police Brutality, Spray paint on wood. Here are several more socially-engaged artworks to be auctioned:

Guerrilla Girls, What’s The Difference Between A Prisoner Of War And A Homeless Person?, Offset lithograph

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Jordan Seiler, Collisions – Bullseye, Inkjet 

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Kara Walker, Lost Mountain at Sunrise: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), Offset lithography and screenprint on Sommerset textured paper

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Distort, Estranged, Enamel and engraving on aluminum

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Nicholas Galanin,  The American Dream is Alie and Well, Archival Ultrachrome ink on Epson ultra smooth fine art paper

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And with the purchase of any artwork from Young New Yorkers, you will receive one of these Amplifier prints designed by Shepard Fairey 

Shepard-Fairey

You can purchase tickers here for May 10th’s Silent Auction and bid on the artworks at Paddle8 here.

Images of artworks courtesy Young New Yorkers

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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