On June 05, 2021, local artists, artisans, writers, teachers, and musicians conjoined on Treat Place, near the historic Four Corners section of downtown Newark and Teacher’s Village, to celebrate and support feminism, Black girlhood, local business, arts, literature and culture. The multi-disciplinary initiative promoted dialogue and reflection on issues of racial justice and gender equality through public art and creative activations.
The program featured a powerful conversation between fayemi shakur, The City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs director and a co-founder of the A Womb of Violet artist collective, and Salamishah Tillet, New Arts Justice director, and author of In Search of the Color Purple, Newark’s star poet Jasmine Mans, author of Black Girl, Call Home, with the latter two signing book autographs on site. On the music front, rising singers Daria Jones and Tia Holt, each performed special sets for the energized crowd.
“Girls are told they need to be more than [themselves] and so it takes double the work to engage as a girl in public spaces.”
Jasmine Mans, Poet and Author, Black Girl, Call Home
The inaugural Murals, Market, Music partnered with New Arts Justice at Express Newark to feature an art intervention centered on racial justice and gender equality, titled Will You Be My Monument: An Ode to Black Girlhood.
Inspired by the mural Will You Be Monument, a collaboration between designer Chantal Fischzang and photographer Scheherazade Tillet, New Arts Justice hopes this activation will enhance contemporary conversations about the ongoing (in)visibility of Black girls and young women in the United States. The related art interventions and conversations—including a portrait session of Black girls in Newark with Scheherazade Tillet, 3D scans and printing of community members as their own monuments with designer Keary Rosen, and a performance by the Floyd Little Double Dutch Team, were also a part of the experience.
Black girlhood is a space of amazing potential, it’s the thing that’s going to save American democracy and Black people.
Salamishah Tillet, New Arts Justice director
Rebecca Jampol, visiting professor and co-director of Project for Empty Space, was one of the key organizers of this pilot effort, integrating her curatorial responsibilities with her leading role in the Four Corners Public Arts partnership, which is transforming public space in Downtown Newark.
Jasmine Mans. Photo by Anthony Alvarez. 
Salamishah Tillet. Photo by Anthony Alvarez. 
fayemi shakur. Photo by Anthony Alvarez. 
Rabbit Hole Farms. Photo by Anthony Alvarez. 
Ironbound Community Corporation’s Down Bottom Farms. Photo by Anthony Alvarez.
The marketplace was organized by Urban Agriculture Cooperative and featured fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, and honey from Newark and New Jersey-based farms, and included participation from Ironbound Community Corporation’s Down Bottom Farms and Rabbit Hole Farm, an herb and tea-blend purveyor with a vibrant community garden in Newark’s South Ward, which also hosted an early morning yoga session.
Murals, Market, Music held its second edition, together with ImVisible Newark, an immigrant empowerment collective based in Newark, on July 10, 2021.
Organizers
Four Corners Public Arts
New Arts Justice
Urban Agriculture Cooperative
Partners
City of Newark and Mayor Ras J. Baraka
The City of Newark, Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs
Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver
Four Corners Public Arts Partnership:
Newark Arts, Newark Downtown District, Invest Newark, RBH Group, Paramount Assets
Provident Bank
Victoria Foundation
Collaborating Artists
Alliyah Allen
Chantal Fischzang
Joseph Labib
Keary Rosen
Salamishah Tillet
Scheherazade Tillet
Special Thanks
Daria Jones
fayemi shakur
Jasmine Mans
Jump Kids Health
Tia Holt
Video Credits
Produced by Igor Alves
Camera by Peter Morris
Edited by Victor Buitrago
Color by Gabriel Kurzlop
Photography courtesy of Anthony Alvarez
Production company: DreamPlay Media
Story made possible in part with support from The City of Newark – Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs
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