Dear Friends,
As the holiday season unfolds, I am reflecting on this extraordinary year at The Newark Museum of Art. I am so grateful to you and everyone who has made 2023 a year of meaningful growth and connections at New Jersey’s largest museum. A few highlights worth recounting:
- In February we dedicated Harriet Tubman Square, working with the city’s monument commission to transform Washington Park into a public tribute to enduring strength and freedom. We stewarded words and materials to enhance the park and monument.
- We unveiled new exhibitions and reimagined collection galleries that share narratives rarely featured in museums. Seeing America: 18th & 19th Century decenters the conventional chronology of American art to explore the erasure of Black and Indigenous histories. In Adama Delphine Fawundu: In the Spirit of Àṣẹ, the artist mined our Global Africa collections to celebrate the complexity of the African diaspora through new work. These projects are years in the making, carefully researched and created by our interdisciplinary teams with support from members and friends like you.
- NMOA’s entrance now invites every visitor to our exploration of representation, art, history, and contemporary culture through Sanford Biggers’s majestic marble sculptures, titled Apollo (Diptych), installed in October.
- A landmark achievement was the triumphant opening of a reimagined Ballantine House. The 1885 residence has been meticulously restored inside and out and now shares stories of the Newark-area people who built and ran the home and the family who lived there. This significant project has taken two and a half years to complete, and we are extremely proud of the opportunity to explore our shared histories and futures with visitors.
Some of my favorite aspects of this year are experiential, not material. Thousands of students and teachers, families, artists, curators, stakeholders, and members visited NMOA this year—some by walking a few blocks and others by traveling from across the globe. Among the first museums in the nation to offer educational programming, NMOA’s remarkable strength in gathering people to connect, question, celebrate, and wonder continues to grow and inspire.
None of this year’s achievements would be possible without you. Your commitment— through philanthropy, volunteerism and participation — has been the driving force of our success. Together we are building an ever more resilient community, united in our dedication to the arts.
If you have not seen the new wonders of NMOA, please come for a visit to your Newark Museum of Art. The holiday season is a wonderful time to experience NMOA’s festive atmosphere, savor our new signature Ballantine Blend Tea, and explore our shop—a destination for distinctive gifts of creativity and culture.
Please accept my gratitude for your support and passion for The Newark Museum of Art. May this holiday season bring joy to you and your family. We can’t wait to usher in 2024 with you!
Take good care,
Linda C. Harrison
Director and CEO
The Newark Museum of Art
