NJIT Artists' Works Showcased at Reimagined 2020 Newark Arts Festival
Not surprisingly, the year of 2020 proved a dominant source of inspiration for international and local Newark artists including those from the NJIT community, who recently showcased their diverse submissions spanning everything from traditional canvas works and digital art to poetry at this year’s Newark Arts Festival.
NJIT Theatre Arts & Technology Program adjunct professor Lillian Ribeiro was part of the 20 contemporary artists including adjunct professor from the Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Matt Gosser, which were highlighted in “Art + Tech: Perception | Access | Power” — the festival’s themed exhibition curated by Marcy DePina, Lauren LeBeaux Craig, and Tricia Laughlin Bloom, where artists aimed to “discern the elements of perception, access and power within the context of art and technology.” This year's exhibition was also made acessible virtually, including an option to explore the gallery through a VR experience.
Many of the titles of pieces on show at the festival’s exhibition at The Newark Museum of Art could serve as chapters of a book written about the past year — including works such as "Technological Glitch" by Clara Aden, "Quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg" by Patricia Dahlman or Nell Painter’s digitally manipulated songbook titled "From Slavery to Freedom".
Ribeiro’s showcased art was similarly socially aware, with works such as "Clean Up the Mess, America" and other mixed media collages which she produced on TV dinner trays and cutting boards.
"Clean Up the Mess, America" — L. Ribeiro
Not all the exhibition’s pieces were inspired through the lens of 2020. Featured photography by Gosser instead reflected on the city’s history, seen in his selection from his Westinghouse series of roughly 30 color and 20 black and white images capturing various perspectives of the factory’s demolition in 2007. Gosser’s work was also projected on brick facing outside the Prudential Center throughout the weekend-long festival.
"Westinghouse 2" — M. Gosser
“As an artist that lives in Newark, I am always looking for old abandoned buildings to collect artifacts. During the Westinghouse demolition, I salvaged a lot of cool gauges and machine parts, things I was able to turn into art and even furniture with free materials from the site,” said Gosser. “During the festival, Lillian and I were on a panel to discuss inclusion and art, which was a big theme for this exhibition. … What I try to do and encourage my students to do, is to go and find inspiration from the streets where you live. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make art, and that was one idea behind the work I chose to show.”
Gosser says that despite the limitations put on this year’s festival in terms of in-person attendance, he believes the virtual element of the event opened new avenues of expression for artists and curators, as well as better ways to connect with art enthusiasts throughout the city and beyond.
“I’ve been participating in the festival ever since the Newark Arts Council started it nearly 20 years ago, so I’ve seen the trajectory of the festival and this one was of course very different,” said Gosser. “One great thing about this year’s virtual gallery experience is that it has given the viewer much more information about the artists and allows for many more pieces from artists to be accessible with just a click of a button. If there’s a positive to take from this year’s festival being in a pandemic, it’s that it got people thinking of all new ways of exhibiting artwork.”
To view the Art + Tech: Perception | Access | Power exhibition featured at this year’s Newark Arts Festival, visit the virtual gallery here.
