Join Project for Empty Space, the City of Newark’s Division of Arts and Culture, and Newark-based artists Armisey Smith and Rachel Fawn Alban to celebrate their latest mural, The Golden Life!

Project for Empty Space, in collaboration with the City of Newark’s Division of Arts and Culture, and Newark-based artists Armisey Smith and Rachel Fawn Alban, have transformed the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Interstate 280 off-ramp in Newark, New Jersey with their latest mural titled The Golden Life. This came together after the two creatives hosted a free artmaking workshop in the spring of 2023 that invited women and girls of all ages to participate in the creation of the artwork. A celebration for the project will take place on Saturday, May 4th at 11 AM at 188 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Newark, NJ.

This project is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative, which responds to the growing number of cities around the world embracing art as an effective and relatively low-cost strategy to enliven and improve safety in their streets through interventions on crosswalks, plazas, and other transportation infrastructure. The location was identified as it is a major intersection of travel (pedestrians, cyclists, motor vehicles and those commuting through Broad Street Station).

The Golden Life highlights women, from youth to elders, who live in the neighborhoods near the intersection. Each portrait, presented as a large-scale black and white photograph with a radiant gold nimbus, illuminates the greatness of Newark women and their essential, multifaceted roles. Floods of color and weaving lines share the story of our collective vibrancy and linked energy- our sisterhood. In addition to the mural, an audio component will be presented that shares the voices of participating femme identified Newark voices.