Lively art scene leads Newark's revival

by Kristyna Barry

see full article:

http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2008/11/lively_art_scene_leads_newarks.html

Thursday November 13, 2008, 5:30 AM

At the Seed Gallery, which opened a year ago, founder Gizem Bacaz said art is the seed of any community.

"I think that in the past if you studied any other community going through rebuilding, such as Boston or Philadelphia, for a lot of these cities, the first step has been art," Bacaz said.

"When you put a lot of creative minds together, it creates a buzz that resonates around the city," she added. "When you put art in a dark city, it brings light."

Open Doors 2009 proves art belongs in Newark

By Tara Fehr

October 08, 2009, 5:00AM

Newark gallery owner Gizem Bacaz said her work is therapeutic and something that she hopes opens doors for others.

Seed, located on Washington Street, had been opened for three years and sits at what Newark Arts Council executive director Linwood Oglesby considers the center of Newark’s growing art industry. “Market and Washington streets is the natural center for galleries,” Oglesby said. “It provides a center for residents and people visiting the city, a landing location.”

“What we’re trying to do here is spread transformational art, to open doors to see something that the community has never seen before and to leave them
with a fresh perspective of something they’ve never seen within themselves,” Bacaz said.

A lot of people have preconceived notions about the city, which may prevent them from experiencing Newark’s history and culture, Bacaz added. Before Seed, Bacaz worked at a Manhattan gallery and after the move people asked her “Why Newark?”

Bacaz has featured artists from London at Seed, and Wilcox said Aferro features artists from everywhere, including one who flew from Norway to attend one of the shows. But since many of the global artists cannot make it to their shows, Aferro expanded its gallery on a global level. Their work can be seen through the gallery’s publications, which consist of catalogues, original essays and artists’ books.