Express Newark, which is largely predicated upon the arts and media programs at RU-N engaging with both specific local partners and the broader Newark community, is due to open in less than 12 months. Express Newark is conceived as a relationship of equals, one in which the “town and gown” divide is reconceived as a “Third Space,” a place in which the relational offers a genesis for change. As Chancellor Cantor put it in a press release when Express Newark was launched, the latter offers a site where the arts and media can “play a pivotal role as a ‘third space,’ where the university and community come together to advance scholarship, strengthen our community, and build the momentum behind Newark’s renaissance.”
In taking up this challenge, A Third Space: The Arts, Community, Rutgers-Newark and Change is a public forum consisting of international, national, RU-N, and local experts addressing how the arts can contribute to the social, intellectual and civic character of communities in general and the greater Newark region specifically for the benefit of both residents and the university community.
Participants:
· Krzysztof Czyżewski – Director, The Borderland Center (an international NGO based in Poland that focuses on using arts as a tool of social justice) and RU-N Urban Civic Initiative Visiting Professor of Practice in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media.
· Jan Cohen Cruz – Professor at Syracuse University, author, artist, scholar, and former Director of Imagining America
· Wayne Winborne – Executive Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, RU-N
· Victor Davson – The Founding Director of Aljira
· Rodney Gilbert – Founder and CEO of Yendor Productions
· Anne Englot – RU-N/Express Newark
Moderator: Ian Watson – RU-N/Chair, Department of Arts, Culture and Media
This Program is sponsored by: The Urban Civic Initiative, Department of Arts, Culture and Media; Aljira; The Institute of Jazz Studies; The Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience.