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Manuel Acevedo

@698manuelacevedo

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My photo imagery, conceptual graffiti ciphers, and public art, reflect the shifting boundaries of diasporic communities within the urban landscape.

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2026 NAM Basement Painting animation (digitized 35mm b/w frames dated 1985) If you could peel the layers off the wall of my home basement on Brookdale Avenue, it would reveal the genesis of my artistic forms of expression, my contribution to the greater graffiti mural culture and the Newark arts. ©️Manuel Acevedo by @698manuelacevedo

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17 days ago

I had the honor of checking out @698manuelacevedo photography installation in Newark, NJ #brickcity curated by @salamishah throughout Newark’s Wards @wardsofnewark Congratulations to my great and artist Manuel Acevedo. by @698manuelacevedo

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22 days ago

As Manuel was growing up in the West ward, the graffiti culture of Newark felt like an invitation to evolve organically as a photographer and artist, and to put it in his words, an urban expressionThis animated short brings together a series of photographs documenting Manuel's early experiments with graffiti in the basement of his family home, where, with his parents' permission, he transformed the space into an evolving canvasThese images offer an early glimpse of how he was already thinking about space, composition, and movement—ideas that would later shape his photography, lettering, typography, and experiments with double exposure.See this work and more in the Central Ward. The exhibition is on view across Newark, NJ📍Central Ward — 5 Linden Street 📍North Ward — Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)📍West Ward — 588 South Orange Ave📍South Ward — Soundstage Park📍East Ward — Riverfront Park📬 Join our newsletter to be the first to hear about upcoming programming.📽️ @698manuelacevedoWards of Newark: Manuel Acevedo features a selection of these early graffiti works alongside his photographs, revealing another dimension of his multidisciplinary practice and lifelong relationship to Newark's visual culture.Join us this summer as we continue the conversation through public programs, community gatherings, and opportunities to experience this one-of-a-kind citywide exhibition.#ManuelAcevedo #Newark #PublicArt #PhotographyExhibition #Graffiti by @698manuelacevedo

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23 days ago

What does it mean to see your city reflected back with care? Wards of Newark: Manuel Acevedo transforms public space into an open-air archive, bringing historic photographs into the neighborhoods that inspired them.Through portraits, storefronts, and everyday moments, Acevedo's images invite us to reflect on memory, belonging, and the stories that shape Newark.Join us this summer, we're expanding the conversation through public programs, community gatherings, and opportunities to engage with the exhibition.📬 Join our newsletter to hear about July programming first for this one of a kind city-wide installation project📷@instadickieArtwork featuring @698manuelacevedoCurated by @salamishahProgramming organized by @newartsjustice#WardsOfNewark #NewarkArt #PublicArt #Photography #ManuelAcevedo by @698manuelacevedo

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25 days ago

Before Wards of Newark, there was a young photographer documenting the city he called home.As a recent graduate of Arts High School, @698manuelacevedo spent years photographing Newark's neighborhoods, creating images that challenged the dominant narratives of crime and poverty and instead centered community, resilience, and everyday life.More than 40 years later, those photographs have returned home.These images, shared alongside a recent feature on the exhibition, offer a deeper look into the archive behind Wards of Newark: Manuel Acevedo. The exhibition is curated by @salamishah Tillet, director of @newartsjustice, the public art studio housed in Express Newark, part of the Rutgers University-Newark community.📍 On view across Newark's five wards through OctoberWest Ward: Former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, 588 South Orange AveSouth Ward: Soundstage Park, 450 Clinton AveCentral Ward: Rutgers University/Halsey Street, 5 Linden StreetNorth Ward: Essex County Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)East Ward: Riverfront Park, 871 Raymond Blvd📬 Subscribe to our newsletter for upcoming programs, artist conversations, and exhibition updates.📷 @instadickie with the @nytimes#WardsOfNewark #ManuelAcevedo #NewarkNJ #PublicArt #NewarkArt by @698manuelacevedo

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a month ago

Missed the opening? The exhibition is live across Newark."Wards of Newark" brings Newark’s past and present into conversation through artist Manuel Acevedo’s photographs and newly commissioned public artworks installed across all five wards.This summer, we’re taking the exhibition beyond the walls and into the neighborhoods that inspired it. Join us for upcoming community activations, conversations, artist talks, and opportunities to connect with fellow residents, creatives, and neighbors.📬 Follow the link in our bio to subscribe to our email list and be the first to receive event announcements, registration details, and our upcoming newsletter.From May to October 2026, The Wards of Newark: Then and Now is a citywide public art exhibition based on artist @698manuelacevedo’s 6,000+ photographs of his hometown, Newark, NJ, taken between 1982–1987. Curated by @salamishah for @newartsjustice, a public arts studio at @rutgersnewarkofficial, the exhibition spans Newark’s five wards — Central, North, South, East, and West — pairing archival images with newly commissioned works created during Acevedo’s 2026 residency with New ArtsVisit the exhibition sites across Newark.📍Central Ward — 5 Linden Street📍North Ward — Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)📍West Ward — 588 South Orange Ave📍South Ward — Soundstage Park📍East Ward — Riverfront Park📷: @vanessablake #WardsOfNewark #NewarkNJ #NewarkArts #PublicArt #PublicArtNJ CommunityArt NewarkCulture ArtsAndCulture StreetPhotography ManuelAcevedo by @698manuelacevedo

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a month ago

The opening of “Wards of Newark” - May 12, 2026, featuring the work of Manuel AcevedoThank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the opening. From the Central Ward to all five wards, the city showed up for the work, the history, and one another.As the exhibition and public programs continue across Newark this summer, we look forward to sharing more of the story and work to come!The exhibition is now live across Newark. Go see it!📍Central Ward — 5 Linden Street📍North Ward — Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)📍West Ward — 588 South Orange Ave📍South Ward — Soundstage Park📍East Ward — Riverfront ParkFrom May to October 2026, The Wards of Newark: Then and Now is a citywide public art exhibition based on artist @698manuelacevedo’s 6,000+ photographs of his hometown, Newark, NJ, taken between 1982–1987. Curated by @salamishah for @newartsjustice, a public arts studio at @rutgersnewarkofficial, the exhibition spans Newark’s five wards — Central, North, South, East, and West — pairing archival images with newly commissioned works created during Acevedo’s 2026 residency with New Arts📷: Malaika Muindi @malaikamuindi[Slide 1 - 15]📍Central Ward - Exhibition Opening[Slide 16-17] 📍North Ward - Opening Bus Tour[Slide 18-19] 📍West Ward - Opening Bus Tour[Slide 20] 📍Central Ward - Manuel Acevedo Archival graffiti self-portraits#WardsOfNewark #NewarkArts #PublicArtNJ #StreetPhotography #NewarkNJ by @698manuelacevedo

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2 months ago

Five wards. Five installations. One city.Manuel Acevedo’s photographs return to the neighborhoods that shaped them, placing Newark’s daily life, memory, and movement back into public space.From West Ward to the riverfront, each installation reflects a different rhythm of the city and the people who move through it, as seen through the archival perspective of young Manuel Acevedo, who documents and observes his community and city in the 1980s.[Slides 1-8] Central Ward — 5 Linden Street[Slides 9-12] West Ward — 588 South Orange Ave[Slides 13-14] North Ward — Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)[Slides 15-16] South Ward — Soundstage Park[Slides 17-20] East Ward — Riverfront ParkFrom May to October 2026, “The Wards of Newark: Then and Now” is a citywide public art exhibition based on artist @698manuelacevedo - over 6,000 images of his hometown, Newark, NJ, from 1982 to 1987. Curated by @salamishah, for a public arts studio at @rutgersnewarkofficial , the show will take place in Newark’s five wards: Central, North, South, East, and West, and pair archival images with commissioned works created during his 2026 residency with @newartsjustice📷: Steve Weinik @steveweinik#WardsOfNewark #NewarkArts #PublicArtNJ #StreetPhotography #NewarkNJ by @698manuelacevedo

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2 months ago

In Print. When I first took the job at Rutgers-Newark in 2018, I dreamed of doing an exhibition all over the city. In part to give back to the people here the creativity, artistic inventiveness and activist swagger that they have given so many for so many long.We @newartsjustice done good with @wardsofnewark exhibition! Many thanks to @698manuelacevedo for his prodigy, spirit, and thousands of photographs, @alliyaha__ and @theurbnsloth for having my back and incredibly hard work, @fayemi_ @rjampol for their faith and generous partnership and @rutgersnewarkofficial @cityofnewarknj @rutgerssasn @fordfoundation @alongwalkhome @monument_lab @expressnewark & Emerson Collective for their support “We’re resilient people, we go through struggles, but we’re very resourceful, yet that’s not what I was seeing,” Manuel Acevedo said in a recent interview.This month, more than 40 years after Acevedo first picked up his camera, those early photographs are the center of an exhibition called “Wards of Newark: Manuel Acevedo” taking place throughout Newark’s five wards. Curated by Salamishah Tillet, who is the director of New Arts at Rutgers — as well as a contributing critic at large for The New York Times — the exhibition is a partnership between Rutgers University-Newark and the City of Newark through New Arts.The photographs can be seen in all five wards of the city in parks and major intersections, as well as at a train station. The locations, notably, are among some of the city’s most highly trafficked spots.At a moment when institutions are looking for ways to make art widely accessible, the exhibition is an example of how public art can reach far and live harmoniously in the communities that inspired it. For the exhibition, a number of Acevedo’s images have been blown up to 12 foot by 8 foot and placed in Riverfront Park in East Ward, along a popular path for joggers, at highly trafficked intersections and other neighborhood locations.🖊️ @tariro__ 📷@instadickie🔗@nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/arts/design/photographer-newark-wards-manuel-acevedo.html?smid=url-share by @698manuelacevedo

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2 months ago

May 12, 2026 Wards of Newark celebration & bus tour of several sites. Stay tuned for more pics! Thank you to the partners at Express Newark/New Arts including Salamishah Tillet, Alliyah Allen, Brooke Finister, Paul Farber (Monument Lab) fayemi shakur & Rebecca Jampol (City of Newark), family, friends, community of artists and Newark residents. @salamishah @newartsjustice @expressnewark @cityofnewarknj @monument_lab @connie_harvey_studio @benvolta Photo credit: Manuel Acevedo #1, 3-6 & 8Andrew (individual used my camera)#2, 7 & 9 by @698manuelacevedo

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/arts/design/photographer-newark-wards-manuel-acevedo.html by @698manuelacevedo

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Two Weeks Away! Join Us on Tuesday, May 12th at 5:30pm for the Wards of Newark: Manuel Acevedo, a citywide public art exhibition featuring black-and-white photographs of Newark, taken from 1982 to 1987, by the multidisciplinary artist and Newark native @698manuelacevedo . Curated by @salamishah , Director of New Arts at Rutgers University—Newark, @wardsofnewark is located across the five wards, West, South, Central, North, and East, and offers a new map of the city’s past vitality and current diversity. Hosted as a partnership between @rutgersnewarkofficial and @cityofnewarknj , “Wards of Newark” features large-scale billboards and murals at key sites in the city:📍West Ward: Former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, 588 S Orange Ave📍South Ward: Soundstage Park, 450 Clinton Ave📍Central Ward: Rutgers University/Halsey Street, 5 Linden Street📍North Ward: Branch Brook Park (Near the Roller Skating Rink)📍East Ward: Riverfront Park, 709 Raymond BlvdTo celebrate the opening of this historic exhibition, we will gather at the Central Ward site, located at 5 Linden Street, for brief remarks, guided tours, music, food trucks, and ice cream!🔗Register now with the link in BioThe exhibition is presented by Rutgers University—Newark, in partnership with Newark’s Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Additionally, the Ford Foundation, Emerson Collective, and A Long Walk Home have provided generous support for this exhibition.Special Thanks to:Branch Brook Park Alliance @branchbrookpark Crown BankEssex County Department of Parks @essexparks The Hanini Group @haninigroup The HLLC at Rutgers University—Newark @hllcrun Newark City Parks Foundation, Inc. @newarkcityparks Division of Art and Cultural Affairs, NewarkDepartment of Recreation, Cultural Affairs & Senior Services, Newark#wardsofnewark #publicart #manuelacevedo #cityofnewark #photographyarchive by @698manuelacevedo

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3 months ago