Jersey City Welcomes 'Woodstock For Artists' With New Mural Fest

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City artists and admirers are anxiously awaiting this weekend's Mural Fest — a public art festival that officials and artists hope will become an annual event.

Jersey City Mural Fest is planned for June 5 and 6. The festival will take place across three main locations, including parts of Journal Square and Hamilton Park. It will feature over 50 artists from local and national levels that will showcase art on more than 50 walls and 300,000 square feet of wall space.

The two-day festival will run from 12-8 p.m. on June 5 and from 12-7 p.m. on June 6.

At a press conference promoting the festival, Mayor Steven Fulop explained that while many cities across the country try to forge a path in their own niche, Jersey City is focusing on arts. Half painted and sketched walls covered buildings along Coles Street and artists popped in and out of the press event — many still in painted and spray-paint kissed clothes.

"In Jersey City, we're making a big bet on the arts community," Fulop said, mentioning the $72 million renovation of the Lowes theater, an arts incubator space on Morgan Street and the newly implemented arts trust fund.

"We are committed to making Jersey City a hub of arts and culture," Fulop said.

The festival is hosted by Mana Public Arts — a contemporary art program devoted to large-scale, site-specific installations by renowned artists from around the world — alongside the city's mural arts program and the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs.

Mana has been working with the city in a formal partnership on arts programs and initiatives for eight years.

Artists said they see the festival as a tangible example of the city's commitment to growing public art and an avenue for artists that have sharpened their skills in the city, to show their work close to home.

Derek Rue, a Jersey City muralist who goes by the name Forsaken, said the festival is the perfect opportunity to see artists' skill progression.

"I've been fortunate enough to see everyone level up and polishing their skills and craft," Rue said. He will have his own mural at the festival and is also curating 25 other local artists. He said he and other artists hope the weekend runs smoothly so that the event eventually becomes a go-to for locals and visitors in the future.

Famed artist Ron English will be featured at the festival as well — Jersey City holds a special place in his heart, having raised his kids in the city. He reminisced on the Jersey City he knew in the 1980s and 90s, when he helped start an underground art scene and spent his days with local artists on the 111 1st street art walk.

"Back when I was doing street art it was illegal, I was mostly doing billboards," English said, noting how things have changed and the embrace that artists are now feeling from the city.

"This is kind of like a Woodstock for artists," English said,"I mean, we're got some of the biggest artists on planet Earth coming to paint giant murals here, what's not to love."

English was putting the finishing touches on his own mural which consisted of portraits of several cartoon characters from English's "Delusionals" series, including a character called Zephyr the elephant, made for his daughter. English and his team threw paint over the rooftop to create the rainbows that rain over his creations in his series.

The festival will include food, music and events for families bringing kids. The festival is meant to support public art and promote the Jersey City Mural Arts program, which has been in practice for seven years and established 153 murals across the city. So far, 96 artists have participated in the program. A virtual map of the murals throughout Jersey City can be found online as well as information on each artist and piece.

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