Newark’s Murals by Helina Metaferia!
MAYOR BARAKA, CITY OF NEWARK AND PROJECT FOR EMPTY SPACE TO UNVEIL DUAL MURALS BY ARTIST HELINA METAFERIA, CELEBRATING WOMEN, ACTIVISM, AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Newark, NJ — November 15, 2025 —By Susan Garolafo
Mayor Ras J. Baraka and The City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs will unveil two new public murals by interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia, on Monday, November 17, at 2:00 PM, with celebrations taking place at both locations—beginning at 35 Halsey Street and continuing to Edison Place. Community partners, city officials, and local residents are invited to join in celebrating this new addition to Newark’s public art landscape.
The murals, created in collaboration with Project for Empty Space, which served as both facilitator and host site supporting the project’s community engagement and production; and Edison Properties, which provided a second host location.
The artworks draw from Metaferia’s ongoing series By Way of Revolution and celebrate Newark’s rich legacy of activism while uplifting contemporary voices shaping the city today.
“Newark is a city where art lives in our streets, our people, and our spirit. These incredible murals by Helina Metaferia embody what makes our city extraordinary: our history of activism, our fierce creativity, and the power of community to keep pushing culture forward. Public art like this doesn’t just beautify our city, it reminds us who we are and who we’re becoming together.”
Metaferia led a Newark-based workshop for women-identifying BIPOC participants that centered on resilience, protest histories, and strategies for self and community care. From this gathering, Newark-born cousins Nashel Brantley and Karla Cruz were chosen as the focal figures for the murals. Their portraits, taken by Newark-based photographer Malaika A. Muindi, are interwoven with archival materials from the city’s activist history, linking past and present movements for justice and representation.
“Being involved in this project from start to finish has been so healing in a way I couldn’t have done by myself. The project helped me connect to myself, my community, my ancestors, and my city in incredible ways,” said participant Nashel Brantley, featured at 35 Halsey St. Newark, NJ.
“These murals were made at a time when we need to see representation of Black and Brown women uplifted—bolder, louder, and fiercer than ever before. Community building and public artwork do that work, at a scale that demonstrates an investment in our legacies,” said artist Helina Metaferia.
Metaferia’s creative process was deeply informed by the Newark Public Library’s extensive archival collections, which document local and national activist movements across generations. Protest imagery incorporated into the murals includes 1960s–70s Black Panther and Young Lords photographs, materials from The Star-Ledger, the National Council on Negro Women, and other African American, Puerto Rican, and Hispanic organizations, reflecting the mural subjects’ diverse heritage.
Buttons from the Library’s Hilda A. Hidalgo protest button collection adorn the mural figures, alongside new buttons designed through community input on what a modern revolution looks and feels like.
Personal and familial imagery plays a key role: family photographs from Nashel and Karla appear throughout both murals, including a recurring baby photo of the cousins. Their grandmothers’ portraits form the figures’ eyes, while cultural symbols—such as a Salvadoran flag—honor their multicultural lineage. A complete bibliography of archival materials is embedded within each mural, underscoring Newark’s ongoing story of resilience, representation, and pride.
Support for the workshop and public artworks comes from the City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Newark Creative Catalyst, the Newark Artist Accelerator, Edison Properties, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Project collaborators include Adam Reich (photography), Bianca Pereira (graphic design), Malaika A. Muindi (photography), Melanie Wu (research), and Wesley Sanders (printing). Installation support was provided by Mark Hartmann, Diego Molina, and Paint & Design.
For photos, click here.
Helina Metaferia is an interdisciplinary artist working across collage, sculpture, video, performance, and social engagement. Her work incorporates archival research, embodied practices, and dialogical studies, supporting overlooked narratives of intersectional identities. She is also an Assistant Professor at Brown University in the Department of Visual Art.
About the Partners
City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs serves as the catalyst for participation, education, collaboration, and development to encourage and support excellence in the arts within the City of Newark. This division oversees the city’s arts initiatives, supports community engagement in arts and cultural programming, provides organizational support to existing and evolving art institutions, oversees a world-class public art program, and encourages collaborative partnerships and investment in the city’s artists and arts and cultural organizations. It supports the creation of a more sustainable, equitable, inclusive, and creative economy in Newark that enlivens our neighborhoods and ignites the imaginations of our children.
Project for Empty Space (PES) is a multifaceted arts organization that includes Exhibitions, Artists Residencies, Public Art initiatives, subsidized Artist Studios, and Artist Professional Development/Granting opportunities. Our programs lean into social discourse, including narratives that have been historically and systemically erased. We strive to course-correct historic instances of forced marginality, in-equity, and in-visibility. Today, in our efforts to support socially-oriented artists, we maintain a commitment to holding space for both looking back and looking to new potentials and futures.
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