NJ TRANSIT UNVEILS TRANSIT ART PROJECT AT NEWARK PENN STATION

NJ State Arts Council and NJ TRANSIT Partner to Connect Commuters with Garden State Artists

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT and New Jersey State Council on the Arts (State Arts Council) today announced The TRANSITional Art Project, a temporary public art partnership between the agencies that selects artists for both visual and performance exhibition. 

“Newark Penn Station is a quintessential example of New Jersey’s architectural art, so it’s only appropriate that it be used to highlight more of our state’s great art,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “The State Arts Council has been a great partner in bringing this unique experience to our customers in a way that we hope makes their travel more enjoyable and illuminating.” 

“The TRANSITional Art Program with NJ TRANSIT is an exciting opportunity to showcase New Jersey’s artists in a new way,” said New Jersey State Council on the Arts Director of Artist Services, Danielle Bursk. “We are proud to help connect NJ TRANSIT riders and the people of Newark with new, stimulating art experiences in their daily lives and to provide New Jersey artists with exhibition opportunities and a supportive experience in creating temporary public art in transit spaces. We’re very excited about this partnership and the opportunities it provides to artists and to the community.”

The inaugural exhibition entitled ‘Dwell Time’ launched at Newark Penn Station this afternoon and will run from October to December 2019.  The exhibition will include paintings, installations, videos, and even a giant children’s book along the windows of a bus shelter. Selected artists receive a $1,000 stipend from the State Arts Council to help offset the costs of developing and installing their projects.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the TRANSITional Art project in partnership with the State Arts Council,” said NJ TRANSIT Manager of Facility Signage and Transit Arts Christine Blanco. “The exhibition is, we hope, the first of many that will make the commuting experience more enlightening and inspiring for our customers.”

The goals of this program are to connect NJ TRANSIT customers and the Newark community with new and exciting experiences in their daily lives and to provide New Jersey artists both exhibition opportunities and a supportive experience creating public art in transit spaces. NJ TRANSIT and the State Arts Council intend to continue providing new art exhibitions at Newark Penn Station in the future and expand to other stations throughout the state.

Artists selected for the first TRANSITional Art installation include painter Serena Bocchino, visual artist Michael Dal Cerro, animator Juliacks, and filmmakers Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno. 

In addition to the artistic installations, the NJ TRANSIT “Music in Motion” program will feature performances at Newark Penn Station from October to December, including artists such as Eun Hee Ahn, Edwin Estremera, Xiaofang Chen, Jeff Snyder and Yasmine Rana.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 251 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines, and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations, and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia.