Newark Arts Festival To Fill The City With Joy, Creativity, And Global Talent

The Brick City will become a hub of creativity this autumn as it hosts the 24th annual Newark Arts Festival, taking place from Oct. 8 to Oct. 12. It will feature a variety of exhibitions, performances, parties, and activities throughout the city of Newark.

Originally known as the Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival, this yearly cultural event is organized by the Newark Arts Council (NAC), also referred to as “Newark Arts.” Since 1981, this organization has supported and invested in thousands of artists and art workers in Newark, transforming the city into a thriving center for arts and culture.

Adrienne Wheeler, lead curator of Artistic Initiatives at Newark Arts, emphasized the organization’s ongoing commitment to honoring artists within and outside the Newark community through their annual festival.

“We highlight the arts in Newark because we believe that the arts power to transform them,” Wheeler said in an interview.

According to Wheeler, this year’s festival will feature the work of over 100 artists from around the globe, including the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and Palestine. Notable guest artists include Ray Arcadio, Samar Hussaini, Nette Forné Thomas, Theda Sandiford, Malik Whitaker, and Noelle Lorraine Williams.

Among the highlights is The Gold Ball on Oct. 8. Inspired by the Pink Ball from 2024’s festival, this party will show the Newark Museum of Art immersed in shimmering gold thanks to designer Bailey Li and fashion artist Erika Hicks. 

Another major event is the Halsey Art Block Party. This big bash will see the titular street transformed into an open-air art gallery filled with activities and performances. It will also include the third annual Next Up Newark celebration, hosted by hip-hop artist Purple Haze, showcasing the city’s rising stars in art and music.

The festival will present “Art Night Out,” showcasing the works of hundreds of artists in locations that form a citywide gallery, reportedly making this the largest art walk in Newark’s history.

“The art walk is an opportunity for all the galleries and studios, artist studios, to be open and available for pedestrians, for visitors to the festival. And we have visitors in the numbers of the thousand to come into those studios to see the art, to meet the artists, to talk to other curators,” said Wheeler.

The festival will feature Camp Revival, a collection of self-portraits created by high school students from Newark, with one student being awarded a mentorship scholarship. Participating students include Elie Steve Semanou, Mary Ojo, Saraiah Marie Brickhouse, Iyona Gaddie, Amari Killings, Jade Woyram Toseafa, Kareemah Taylor, Amani Crosby, and Simileoluwa Ogunbekun.

Last year’s Newark Arts Festival drew over 11,500 attendees and showcased more than 500 artists, highlighting the city as a hub for creativity and great innovation with its “radical reimagining” theme. Building on that success, the 2025 festival emphasizes joy as a source of inspiration for Newark’s creative community.

As a result, the festival launched the “Joy Lives Here” campaign, celebrating the artists whose works were inspired by their joyful experiences in the Brick City. Such artists include Jersey City-based photographer Lalea Raymond, candlemaker Reis Chester, educator Jeffrey Osborne, and world-renowned abstract painter Genesis Tramaine. 

“We were trying to lead with the message that joy leads, despite anything that may be going on in the world [or] in our personal lives, that there’s no reason why we can’t also experience joy,” said Wheeler. “And this gives the artist an opportunity to create with joy, to speak about the joy of creating, regardless of their medium, regardless of the content of their artwork.”

The Newark Arts Festival has received sponsorship from multiple organizations, including Prudential Financial, NJPAC, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Discover Jersey Arts, and Newark Happening. It also received the support of partners like Express Newark, The Art Walk, Love, and Bloomfield College of Montclair State University.

With all its supporters and exciting attractions, this year’s Newark Arts Festival is set to turn the Brick City into a lively, fun-filled celebration of art once more. Organizers hope the festival will provide creatives with the opportunity to share their art with a wider audience.

Tickets for “Newark Arts Festival: Joy” are now on sale. To learn more, please visit the Newark Arts Festival website here.