Glocally Newark

Friday was a busy day for Open Doors 2009 with events like the Newark Art Parade and the Gallery Crawl. With so much going on and so little time, some opted to see it all or spend a decent amount of time at a select few. I chose the latter.

I arrived at the Barat Foundation 40 minutes early for the parade,  only to find that I had forgotten my camera that morning. Torn between missing out on part of the parade or having no photos of the event, I decided to take the chance and rushed home to get my camera. I didn’t feel too terrible when I made my way down Broad St. a few minutes late, and realized the mayor had not even arrived yet.

So, here I was soaking in all the excitement amongst a marching band, double dutch team, dancers, and last but not least those transporting the 6 foot tall Animodules.  Cory Booker had arrived shortly after I had, but with his entrance the flash of cameras illuminated the side street while the crowd swarmed him. This was with good reason, Booker proved he too could jump double dutch. After speakers hyped up the crowd, the procession began.

I found some volunteers I had helped in painting Animodules with and proceeded to walk the parade route. The colors of the Animodules popped against the gray back drop of the city.  Once we actually turned onto Broad from Commerce the slight chill in the air became a bitter cold wind. Still with the sky looking the way that it did at that point it still wasn’t raining yet! Thankfully the rain had not started until we were on out way back to the Foundation. Back from our walk with the Animodules we were happy to come inside to warm our frigid hands and enjoy some art, drinks, and food.

Inside I slunk inside a cushy chair set up in front of a projector where I half-watched a strange and lengthy film that from what I gathered was about youtube and the digital age. I sat there happily munching on my chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks, wondering when I would finally warm up. I watched people talk art openings on the other couches with a very out-spoken patron who wanted to school me in the inner-workings of the Newark art scene. Eventually it was time to take my leave, Rupert Ravens Contemporary was having an opening reception at 8:00pm.