Newark, NJ – August 5, 2024 – Mayor Ras J. Baraka will join the Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA) to host the opening and public reception of a photo exhibit of community portraits entitled “The Artist’s Role” today,Monday, August 5, at 6 p.m. The reception will take place at the William Mobile Ashby Community Care and Training Center. The center is located at 695 Bergen Street.

The exhibit will showcase photography by local artists curated by the Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs to create a welcoming environment that encourages community engagement.

“In Newark, life and art reflect each other, and perhaps nowhere more precisely as through the poetic lens of a photographer,” said Mayor Baraka. “It is with great joy that I invite residents to this exhibit, which celebrates our hometown community by displaying portraits of us, in a space created specifically for our enjoyment, education, and solidarity.”

The exhibit features portraits of Newarkers by photographers Akintola Hanif, Amandla Baraka, Bikier Hayes, Chrystofer Davis, Edil Irizarry, Tamara Fleming, and Tobias Truvillion. The reception will feature a live poetry reading by Newark-based poet Mia X, and remarks by Mayor Baraka and participating artists.

“We want to use this opportunity to speak to those in attendance about the importance of community care and building relationships,” said Arts and Cultural Affairs Director fayemi shakur. “We also hope to engage arts groups in utilizing the space in the future.”

The title of the exhibit, “The Artist’s Role,” is a nod to a quote by the legendary Newark poet, Amiri Baraka, displayed on the building: “The artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world, and themselves more completely.”

“I set out on a mission to find the beauty and dignity in people not often recognized. I tell them what I see in them,” said photographer Akintola Hanif. “There’s a nobility about my subjects that I like to amplify. It’s a form of community building.”

The Center opened last March with a vision to operate as a shared space that gives residents and public safety workers a place to deepen their connections. The facility features a 470-seat state-of-the-art auditorium and multiple classrooms and gathering spaces that community groups can utilize.

“Art builds confidence, and can help with critical thinking skills and interpreting the world around us,” said Deputy Mayor of Public Safety LaKeesha Eure. “The center is the perfect location for this exhibit because photography exposes us to the dynamics and possibilities of life around us, and our own inner emotional and spiritual world. Art unites us, brings awareness to social issues, and inspires change. It is healing and therapeutic.”

Other activities at the center have included a free community-based doula-training program by BRICK Education Network, which began in May, and summer youth programs in partnership with the city’s Office of Violence Prevention.

In addition to showcasing local artistic talent, the reception will highlight how the surrounding community can make use of space within the Center. Clinton Hill Community Action will share the work they are doing in the South Ward.

“At Clinton Hill Community Action, we are dedicated to building a platform for cultural and artistic expression that creates solutions, transforms spaces and enhances the pride of the people,” said Khaatim Sherrer El, CHCA Executive Director. “Art is a tool for advocacy that is a thread that will weave together a stronger, more connected community with an increased quality of life for all our residents.”

For more information about the William Mobile Ashby Community Care and Training Center, contact Building Manager Latina Byrd at byrdl@ci.newark.nj.us

About the William Mobile Ashby Community Care and Training Center

The 100,000-square-foot center is named in honor of the late civil rights leader and New Jersey’s first Black social worker, William Mobile Ashby. The facility is a shared space used to train social workers, outreach workers, and police officers and firefighters.

About Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA)

CHCA collaborates with residents to revitalize the Clinton Hill neighborhood and Newark’s South Ward to ensure that development is equitable and just, and advocate for what the community needs and deserves. CHCA also collaborates with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on the NJPAC ArtsXChange program in the South Ward, bringing resources to the South Ward neighborhood in the form of performance events, artist workshops, classes and more.

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