She made up her mind to get free (2023)
Excerpt from “Harriet Tubman,” by Newark-based poet Mia X
Eirini Linardaki, Kelley Prevard, Danielle Scott, Shoshanna Weinberger & Noelle Lorraine Williams
Liberation is defined by the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression—it is a release. Since the beginning of time, Womanhood has presented an intersectional battle for liberation, tackling a collision of factors including body autonomy, economic oppression, cultural subordination, and political marginalization.
Art and storytelling have long played important roles in Newark’s liberation movements, from homemade placards to the powerful words of local poets to monuments like Nina Cooke John’s “Shadow of A Face.” Centered in Tubman Square, the monument features an audio installation from Audible that shares the story of Newark’s role—past and present—in emancipation.
Phase three of the Newark Artist Collaboration includes a multi-site public art activation that wraps Tubman Square and explores multiple intersectional interpretations of femme freedom, inspired by or incorporating the power of words with impactful visuals.
Eirini Linardaki
494 Broad St
Beyond the Muse: The Frieze of All Women (2024)
Three generations of women, representing the past, present, This composition draws a parallel between the historical portrayal of women in monuments and the lived experiences of women today. Throughout much of history, women represented in monuments were often anonymous—depicted not as individuals with unique stories, but as muses, symbols, or allegories of ideals such as virtue or liberty. Their identities were frequently obscured, and their roles reduced to abstract embodiments of femininity, rather than celebrated as heroes in their own right.
This project seeks to shift that narrative toward one of empowerment. It serves as a complex homage—reminiscent of the intricate reliefs on Ancient Greek temples that celebrated heroes—now honoring the strength, solidarity, and resilience of real women. For this work, Linardaki invited people to submit pictures of women they admire, recognizing the countless women—such as her own mother—who have made profound sacrifices to support their communities or provide their children the freedom to pursue their dreams. Her mother often expressed that everything she did was to give Linardaki the choice to follow her own path, a selfless act of heroism that deserves acknowledgment.
The composition celebrates the collective strength of women who uplift their communities. It envisions these women standing together, forming a heroic frieze on a temple. Instead of gods or soldiers, this frieze portrays women supporting one another, creating a legacy of empowerment. Their contributions transcend symbolism; they are real, transformative, and impactful, shaping lives and futures. Through this work, Linardaki reimagines the anonymous muse as something far more powerful—an acknowledgment of real women whose heroism often goes unrecognized. It is a tribute to their strength, resilience, and capacity to elevate not only their families but entire communities.
Noelle Lorraine Williams
560 Broad St
“...Dip and Spin with the Children” Black Liberation through Dance and Song(2024)
In 1801, Newark’s town leaders worked to prevent enslaved and free African Americans from gathering downtown and “falsely declare[ing] themselves to be free.” Despite these restrictions Black Newarkers continued to build community though worship, education, entrepreneurship, singing and dancing together. Newark’s African American family the O’Fake’s (the daughter pictured far left) owned one of the earliest dance schools, performed across the country and ledconcerts to raise funds for their community.
Newark’s early 19th century Black community numbered in the hundreds and increased by tens of thousands during the Great Migration. Travelers walked, left former plantations, took trains, ships and later planes from other parts of the United States, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Cuba to all meet here.
In the 20th century dance gatherings of freedom took place in African dance workshops, the streets and Newark’s music clubs, such as the legendary Zanzibar (background image). The title of this mural speaks to the Black community’s urge to teach our children creativity and boldness through our dances. It also speaks to the use of the word “children” as an affectionate term used in the northeastern LGBTQ club community.
Black women performed songs and dances that were a culmination of hundreds of years of liberation songs. They sang them in church, public places and even the club. Like Newark’s own Gloria Gaynor (pictured center), these songs and dances inspired, led and empowered people in Newark and across the world to be free.
*Lyric from the song ”Dance for Me” Queen Latifah
Kelley Prevard
559 Broad St (at Washington Pl)
Breaking Chains, Embracing Stars
Three generations of women, representing the past, present, and future, embrace in a star-filled archway as if in a portal to another dimension—one in which all women are empowered. Above shines the North Star, which Harriet Tubman used to liberate herself and many others.
In the background, patterns represent interconnectedness, with the gingko leaf symbolizing the remembrance of women’s contributions throughout history. In the second panel, below Harriet Tubman’s quote, a hawk emerges from the shadows, a symbol of freedom, strength, and power.
Danielle Scott
1 Washington Pl (at Broad St)
Young, Gifted, and Black
In 1972, Gladys Barker Grauer started the first Newark art gallery, on Bergen Avenue, dedicated to women artists of color. Called “Black Women’s Visual Perspective,” the gallery was a space for women and girls, mothers, and educators to focus on their practice and find support; to, as Ms. Barker encouraged, “do both — do all things.”
These collages honor seven women who have each played an instrumental role in building this space and the Newark arts community, including Ms. Barker. In order, they are:
Gladys Barker Grauer, “Mother of Newark Arts,” who founded Black Women’s Visual Perspective.
Camille Josephine Billops, sculptor, filmmaker, archivist, print-maker, and Rutgers-University Newark art professor.
Victoria “Viki” La Beaux Clark Craig, a widely respected educator and the founder/executive director of Art in the Atrium, Inc.
Nette Forné Thomas, a Newark educator and administrator for 36 years, whose art explores women’s roles and societal status.
Margaret Slade Kelley, an acclaimed painter and the first Black artist commissioned by the State of New Jersey to position artwork on public buildings.
Eleta J. Caldwell, who was a graduate—and later, principal—of Arts High School, and who devoted her life to mentoring young Newark artists.
Bisa Washington, a sculptor, printmaker, and writer whose work explored her identity as an African-American woman.
Shoshanna Weinberger
500 Broad St (at Bridge St)
Journeying Together: From Sunrise to Sunset
Figures gather, symbolizing marginalized bodies, and are striped in the colors of the rising and setting sun. The stripes symbolize the artist's own "hybridity," as an Afro-Caribbean American, and the number of stripes correlate to measured time—24 hours, 7 days, and 12 months. Stripes also refer to societal division along lines of race, politics, and class, as well as flags, fences, borders, barcodes, and animals. This piece draws inspiration from the Harriet Tubman Monument Project and the Underground Railroad, telling a story of people marching and assembling, coming together to create community beneath the skies.
Images by Rachel Fawn Alban.