New Jersey’s tribute to Earth Day, biodiversity and beyond, A New View – Camden is a public art project in six Camden neighborhoods from now until the Fall.
With a view to turn Tristate residents’ heads from its negative image, Camden’s brightest, freshest idea is A New View – Camden, our nearest neighbor in New Jersey’s tribute to Earth Day and beyond. And a smartly inventive, six-month-long exhibition featuring six, one-of-a-kind and family-friendly public art projects.
Starting on Earth Day, April 22, what makes the innovative, half-year set of installations and set pieces fascinating, first, is that it comes from (in part), the mind of Camden Mayor Frank Moran and the Rutgers-Camden University Center for the Arts. Funded by a $1 million Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge grant. The exhibit’s outdoor installations are meant to call attention to illegal dumping and its impact on the community and the direct environment in which they’ll exist through to the autumn.
In speaking with Cyril Reade (the Associate Professor of Art History and Director at Rutgers – Camden Center for the Arts), Terreform ONE’s Vivian Kuan and sculptor Lisa Adler, what was most amazing was how dedicated each artist was to understanding the environmental hazard each individual area faced. And how their separate art pieces were meant to reflect said problem, and or provide solutions in sculptural form.
Tapping into Camden’s roots as the first county in the state to mandate recycling, A New View – Camden is dedicated to art and recycling that can contribute to urban biodiversity. Here is a list of the artists and the immediate areas in which they’ll stand
Don Kennell and Lisa Adler “Invincible Cat” at Whitman Park Neighborhood. “It’s a black panther made from repurposed black car hoods, 36’ long, 7’ tall and 10’ wide,” says Adler.
Terreform ONE, Mitchell Joachim, Vivian Kuan “Bio-Informatic Digester” at Gateway Neighborhood. “This utilizes mealworms to eat styrofoam packaging from e-waste,” says Kuan. “At its base, the tesseract showcases mealworms devouring community-donated styrofoam. And at the top, mycelium erodes over time to reveal the biodiversity graph and future projections of Camden.”
Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi, SLO Architecture “Turntable” at North Camden Neighborhood.
Athena Steen and Josh Sarantitis “Touching Earth” at North Camden Neighborhood.
Tyler FuQua Creations “Mechan 11: The Collector” at North Camden and Cramer Hill Neighborhoods.
The Myth Makers, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein “The Phoenix Festival” at East Camden Neighborhood.
As states its press release, “these six sites for temporary public art are adjacent to major transportation corridors in the Camden neighborhoods of North Camden, Cramer Hill, Gateway, Whitman Park, and East Camden, along the PATCO Speedline, NJ Transit’s River Line, and Camden GreenWay” for the sake of convenience. Commuters and travelers passing through Camden and by those sites will allow for greater visibility of those installations will call further attention to the project. And spark conversation. Or they will just exist as truly cool art pieces.
Further performance art and live music events are planned. Check HERE for additional information.
Images: Bloomberg Philanthropies
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