Queen of Angels: When a Church Dies

I am looking for artists working in all kinds of mediums to participate in a fall 2016 exhibit that focuses attention on the soon-to-be-demolished Queen of Angels church in Newark, NJ.   The church and attached school are historic landmarks; built in the 1800’s by German immigrants, home to Newark’s first African American RC congregation, was at the epicenter of the ’67 rebellion and was used by Martin Luther King Jr. to deliver a speech 2 weeks before he was assassinated.   The archdiocese somehow got permission to demolish these historic structures and plans to sell the vacant land to developers.   I will be giving tours (as possible) and collecting artifacts that artists can use in their artwork.   I will post pictures for those who are interested.

Found object sculpture, collage, furniture design, installation art, drawing, painting, poetry, photography, video and performance art that deals with the themes of church, school, civil rights, gentrification, historic preservation and related topics will be considered for inclusion in this exhibit.   The point of the exhibit is to shine a light on the church’s history & demise and give second life to artifacts found on the site.   Previous “ar+chaeology” exhibits have focused on the old Newark Jail, Westinghouse, the Pabst Brewery, Newark theaters and Downtown Newark.   I haven’t produced an exhibit like this for 5 years and am very excited to take this one on to help Newark celebrate its 350th anniversary this year.   A location and exact date for the exhibit has not been set but a deadline for submissions will be approximately end of July.   Additional requirements, guidelines and timetable will be released in the coming weeks.

-Matthew Gosser
Director, CoAD Gallery, Newark and Dolphin Gallery, Paterson
smatt_nj@yahoo.com