About Project for Empty Space:
Project for Empty Space (PES) is a multifaceted arts organization in downtown Newark, NJ and downtown Manhattan, NY. PES is a woman-run, femme-powered, People of the Global Majority/BIPOC, Queer, and unapologetically radical ecosystem for creatives. Today, PES provides safe, equitable spaces for artistic innovation and complex public engagement by supporting artists whose work is oriented toward social discourse. Our programs lean towards discourses that have been historically and systemically erased such as marginality, in-equity, and visibility. Today, in our efforts to support socially-oriented artists, we maintain a commitment to holding space for radical future-making.
These programs include the Artists In Residence program, Feminist Incubator, Gallery Exhibitions and Programs, PES STUDIOS subsidized studio program, Newark Artist Accelerator (NAA) regranting program, the Newark Artists Database, and Public Art. In addition to fulfilling this mission in Newark, PES will also add an exhibition and hybridized residency program in New York City’s Lower East Side, where the organization originally began in 2010. This space will not only broaden the visibility of efforts in Newark, but also create a wider geographical reach for discourses around liberation, radicality, and social change. Intersectionality is holistically embedded in this mission across both the current Newark space and our future New York City space; our programs are created to fulfill this aspiration.
About Newark Artists:
Newark Artists is an Online Database for Newark-Based Multidisciplinary Visual Artists.
Newark Artists is a free platform 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.
Artist profiles feature information about practice, images of work, and external links to connect via website, email, social media, and more. Joining the database is free.
This website is powered by Project for Empty Space as an effort to continue to serve the artists and audiences of Newark.
About the Newark Artist Accelerator:
The 2023 Newark Artist Accelerator is a project grant for Newark-based, multidisciplinary visual artists. This year’s fund is made possible by the generous support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program.
Project-based grants will be awarded in the amounts of $2,500, $5,000, and $7,500. Proposed projects must be artist-led and can include collaborative ventures, pop-up exhibitions, events, and interventions of an ephemeral nature that are radically accessible to public audiences. We are looking for investigative and authentic initiatives.
Applications will be assessed by the proposal’s originality, impact, and feasibility. A jury of local and national arts professionals will select projects
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities nationwide. The program allows the Foundation to reach a sizable population of informal, non-incorporated artist collectives and to support their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events, and other projects.
BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) DIGITAL COMMUNITY ARCHIVE aims to create awareness, cultivate community, and engender support for bodily autonomy through art. This project emerges as response to a relentless wave of conservatism that continues to politicize queer liberation and restrict reproductive & gender affirming healthcare. The overarching message of this program is broadening awareness of the right to Safe, Legal, and Accessible healthcare that allows us to live in our power and choice. We intend to use the digital landscape to historicize this time and create a community unbound by state/location.
BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) is our cross-country exhibition tour inside of a 27-foot Box Truck celebrating Reproductive Justice, Queer Liberation, and Trans Joy! We're bringing over 200 artists’ works inside this truck to cultivate community coast-to-coast. The two-part endeavor (a traveling exhibition and an accessible digital database) addresses the importance of agency, autonomy, and choice when it comes to healthcare and individual identity.
The PES Studio Member Program is a home for culture makers. It houses over 40 artist studios and shared spaces for creative professionals. But it is far more than space: it is community. The purpose of the PES program is to cultivate a multidisciplinary, supportive artist community. A diverse array of studio practices enhance and inspire our members but also lead to a wider audience of patrons, collectors, clients, and enthusiasts from all different areas.
PES Studio Members are part of a growing studio community. In the next year, PES’ studio footprint will grow, and we want to hear from you on the needs of our local creative community.
Please take a moment to fill out this survey so we can continue to improve how we serve artists.
The 2024/5 Newark Artist Accelerator is a project grant for Newark-based, multidisciplinary visual artists. This year’s fund is made possible by the generous support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program.
Project-based grants will be awarded in the amounts of $2,500, $5,000, and $7,500. Proposed projects must be artist-led and can include collaborative ventures, pop-up exhibitions, events, and interventions of an ephemeral nature that are radically accessible to public audiences. We are looking for investigative and authentic initiatives.
Projects may not include:
- Projects initiated or organized by existing incorporated entities (includes LLC’s B Corps, 501(C)(3) organizations, and 501(c)(4) organizations), universities or schools (private, public, charter), or religious institutions.
- Projects seeking support retroactively or seeking reimbursement for a past project.
- Proposals for funding to support a solo exhibition, travel costs, etc.
- Projects proposed by an individual artist to present their own work.
Applications will be assessed by the proposal’s originality, impact, and feasibility. A jury of local and national arts professionals will select projects.
The application portal is now open. It will close on Friday, November 29, at 11:59 pm. An information session about the Newark Artist Accelerator fund will be held on Wednesday, November 13, at 4 pm.
The Newark Artist Accelerator was created in 2020 to accelerate artistic activity in Newark, New Jersey. To date, the annual fund has distributed nearly 140,000 in both emergency and project-based grants.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. The program allows the Foundation to reach the sizable population of informal, non-incorporated artist collectives and to support their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events, and other projects.
The PES Studio Member Program is a home for culture makers. It houses over 40 artist studios, and shared spaces for creative professionals. But it is far more than space: it is community. The purpose of the PES program is to cultivate a multidisciplinary, supportive artist community. A diverse array of studio practices enhance and inspire our members, but also lead to a wider audience of patrons, collectors, clients, and enthusiasts from all different areas.
PES Studio Members are part of a growing studio community. Members pay a monthly fee for spacious studios that vary in size (200 - 500 sq. ft) and include 24 hour access, temperature control, complimentary high speed WiFi, kitchen access, and multiple member exhibition areas. Subsidized membership fees range from $400 - $1100, and is based on size of studio.
Membership includes an array of expanding member programs, such as the CCC Program (visiting curators, collectors and critics), professional development workshops and events, and our ever thriving bi-annual studio tours.
Membership criteria: Creatives working in all forms of media are welcome to apply. The program is designed for artists who already have or are interested in creating a dedicated studio practice. Applications are evaluated solely on the quality of the work as presented. PES is a proudly inclusive space. We do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation or marital status. We proudly welcome everyone to apply for our Studio Member Program.