Kevin Sampson, 59, is an artist known for making elaborate sculptures out of found objects. He has lived in Newark for more than 20 years.
Gentrification fuels rift among Newark’s local artists - Al Jazeera America
Longtime residents feel left out of resurgence as newcomers land prime art spaces
Gilbert Hsiao, 58, has bounced among various studios, from Berlin to the concrete shell of a defunct oil tank in Brooklyn before landing space in downtown Newark, New Jersey, where he now paints his colorful, geometric art pieces.
Once overlooked as an art destination and better known for its 1967 riots and urban decay, Newark’s downtown hosts a growing visual arts scene that has attracted outsiders like Hsiao with cheap rent, good public transportation and a constellation of cutting-edge galleries that have garnered outsize praise. There are more than a dozen art galleries in Newark in addition to spaces that double as coffee shops or beauty parlors.