New Opportunities
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Stories in Sound, Movement, and Community
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has launched a public art initiative to commission 13 original works for its redeveloped campus in downtown Newark.
The new neighborhood taking shape around NJPAC’s iconic theaters will include ArtSide, a 350-unit residential and retail development, and the Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, a three-story home for NJPAC’s arts education programs, community initiatives, and rehearsal studios.
These new public artworks will enliven the area with installations that reflect the rhythm, resilience, and vitality of Newark’s communities. The project—titled Stories in Sound, Movement, and Community—weaves together the three core elements of NJPAC’s mission to bring people together through the performing arts. Each work will be site-specific and offer an interactive experience that celebrates the city’s artistic legacy and contemporary creative expression.
We look forward to inviting artists, particularly those with community-engaged practices, to help envision and energize this new neighborhood. An RFP is now open in partnership with Project for Empty Space for new works that capture both the spirit and mission of the performing arts center and the energy of our home city, Newark.
Learn More and Apply: njpac.org/publicart
Deadline to Apply: January 19, 2026
Virtual Artist Information Session: December 10, 3–4:30 PM
RSVP Link: njpac.org/publicart/#registerEligibility: Artists in New Jersey and New York
Compensation and Budget: Artist honorariums range from $7,500 to $25,000. Holistic project budgets range from $50,000 to $75,000.
Ongoing Opportunities
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Newark Artists is a free platform that was developed to highlight and celebrate artists whose creative practices are locally rooted. This database acknowledges the artist’s crucial role in this city. Additionally, it serves as a way to invest in, and support our creative community. Newark Artists is more than an index of artists: it is a community, hub, and home for creatives in the Greater Newark Area. The platform includes artist profiles, an arts organization directory, and a continuously updated list of opportunities for creative practitioners. It is a resource for artists, as well as those who seek to learn more about the Newark Art Scene.
Originally conceived in 2018, Newark Artists was a community situated in the virtual space. Launched in 2020, as we navigated a global pandemic that kept many of us inside and apart, we saw this resource as a new way to connect and keep the artist community thriving. In addition to the website, a series of free virtual professional development programs are collaboratively produced with local organizations and practitioners. This website is powered by Project for Empty Space as an effort to serve artists and audiences of Newark.
Learn More & Apply HERE.
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BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) is not only an exhibition but a cultural movement around bodily autonomy, freedom of expression, and community building. This work takes place both in physical space and in the digital realm.
Our hope with the Body Freedom Database is to build community by sharing artwork of any discipline—visual art, poetry, essays, music, dance, film, and more—and letting that artwork prompt conversation and camaraderie. We invite you to contribute your voice and your vision. We welcome artists across all mediums who are passionate about using their art to challenge, educate, and provoke dialogue on bodily autonomy and identity.
Learn More & Apply HERE.