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.
CALL FOR 2024/25
PES ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
DEADLINE: Monday, April 1st, 2024
The PES Artist in Residence Program is an annual initiative that invites four visual artists who are interested in intersectionality, social discourse, and/or social activism. The program strives to create a symbiotic relationship between the artist and communities. At its core, the PES AIR program was created to support artists who are interested in social engagement. It achieves this by providing studio space for one year; cultivating professional development opportunities such as studio visits and critical feedback meetings; facilitating community programs with the artists work; and finally, presenting a solo exhibition of the artists’ work towards the end of their cycle.
This program strives not only to support individual artists; but also, to cultivate conversation around social equity and engagement that are often swept by the wayside. We see the AIR program as a bridge between artists and communities to push important dialogues forward.
The PES AIR Program is currently in it’s eighth cycle. Past Artists in Residents include: Amy Khoshbin, David Antonio Cruz, Delano Dunn, Derrick Adams, jaret vadera, jc lenochan, Kambui Olujimi, Nina Chanel Abney, Richard Hart, Shoshanna Weinberger, Victoria-Idongesit Udondian, and Wardell Milan. To learn more about the program and past residents, please visit our website.
Applicants must be 18 and over and reside in the Tri-state area (housing is not provided.)
Deadline for entries: Monday, April 1st, 2024. The residency will commence Autumn 2021.
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.