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Chantal Fischzang

@chantista

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Designer & Educator
Associate Professor,
Rutgers University-Newark

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A new greeting at Express Newark.
The sign at our second-floor entrance has changed. It now reads “Éxito,” a 2026 work by Chantal Fischzang and one of the pieces in our Legacy exhibition. Éxito is the Spanish word for success.

The work takes the shape of a familiar EXIT sign and transforms a symbol of passage into a declaration of possibility. The idea emerged from a family memory:
“When my daughter was young, she developed an unusual fixation with EXIT signs. Her caregiver, who spoke Spanish, would point to them and say, ‘Mira, Manu, el éxito.’”

That poetic drift in mistranslation became this piece: reframing a sign associated with departure as one that points toward opportunity and belonging. A way out, reimagined as a way forward.

The large-scale typographic neon sign now welcomes every student, artist, and community member who walks through our doors.

📍 2nd Floor, Express Newark | On view: Ongoing
🎨 @chantista 📸 Anthony Alvarez, Devyn Nunez by @chantista

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8 days ago

Tres miradas de la bienal de bolivianos referentes en el mundo: Chantal, Roberto y Javier nos han acompañado en diferentes versiones y — a la fecha— su apoyo sigue intacto. ✨
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#bicebe2027 #bicebeepicentrocreativo #vivalabicebe by @chantista

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19 days ago

Today marks the final day of the second phase of A Feeling of Itself at @projectforemptyspace. After welcoming more than 700 visitors after two months, we are so grateful to everyone who engaged with this work. 🧡

This space has been a home for so many meaningful moments.

Our Opening Night featured a performance by @yeiei.y and welcome remarks from Lives in Translation students Alma Garcia and Esperanza Santos, Senator Ruiz @senmteresaruiz, Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson, Provost @jrobinsonphd, Project for Empty Space co-directors Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol (@rjampol), lead designers Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gise.la.co), and Lives in Translation director Stephanie Rodríguez (@stephierodd) and co-founder Jennifer Austin.

Events and workshops were hosted centering on multilingualism, translation, and cultural identity brought together scholars, students, community members, and language advocates to engage in conversation and community building. Thank you to Dr. Sarita Monjane Henriksen (@monjanehenriksen), Ross Perlin (@elaboratory), Tareq Baconi, and @parakidsbooks for being part of this journey.

While today is the last day to visit in person, the exhibition will live on in a new form. More to come soon!

And stay tuned for phase three: Ilumina, a site-specific lighting installation across the exterior façade of Edison Place, transforming the building into a beacon that connects language and light. ✨

This project represents ten years of @litrutgers and the incredible collaboration with the Design Consortium (@acm_gd) and @projectforemptyspace. Thank you to everyone who made it possible! 🤎

A Feeling of Itself is produced with support from Project for Empty Space, the Newark Story Bus, Talking Eyes Media (@talkingeyesmedia), SHINE Portrait Studio (@shine_portraitstudio) Express Newark (@expressnewark), the Rutgers Language Engagement Project Research Advisory Council, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies (@runspanishportuguese), the School of Arts and Sciences (@rutgerssasn), the RU-N Chancellor’s Office, the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America (@cprarutgers), and NJEDA. taken in Project For Empty Space by @chantista

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4 months ago

Now On View at Project for Empty Space in Newark:

“A Feeling of Itself”, an audio-visual exhibition part of a three-part program developed by Project for Empty Space, Lives in Translation (@litrutgers), and the Design Consortium at Rutgers University-Newark (@acm_gd), led by designers Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gise.la.co).

Featured Above: “In Their Own Words” (2026)

These are the words of multilingual community members at Rutgers University-Newark collected by Lives in Translation.

➡️ In these reflections, and as visitors walk through “A Feeling of Itself”, you will see code-switching, the movement between two languages within a single thought, as in “I speak English and I speak Spanish, y eso tiene su propio poder.” You will notice cross-linguistic influence, the way one language shapes the learning or use of another language, which can lead to transfer of learning, interference, and acceleration or slowing of areas of language development. And you will encounter questions about lingua franca, the shared language we use to communicate with people when we do not share a first language.

🗣️ Here, each quote reflects the complexity, pride, and challenge of living between languages. Some speak of belonging and connection. Some speak of responsibility and pressure. All speak of what it means to carry more than one language.

📍 Visit “A Feeling of Itself” at Project for Empty Space
800 Broad St, Newark, NJ
Tuesday–Friday, 11am–6pm
On view through June 1, 2026 by @chantista

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4 months ago

What a beautiful morning at Project for Empty Space! ☀️

Thank you to everyone who joined us for “Sounds Like Home / Suena a Casa Family Day” in Newark, co-hosted with Para KIDS! (@parakidsbooks).

The day was filled with multilingual arts and crafts designed by Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gisela.co), reading circles led by Para KIDS! founder Daniela Palacios, and a special book signing. We loved welcoming young people and families into the space to explore the exhibition together. 🌈🖍️📚

Para KIDS! is a bilingual education company that empowers youth to feel confident in both English and Spanish. Featured titles included S”ara’s New Country and New Friend / El Nuevo País y la Nueva Amiga de Sara” and “Sara’s Friendship Passport / El Pasaporte de Amistad de Sara / Passaporte de Amizade de Sara” — all part of an onsite multilingual library curated by Lives In Translation.

✨ This event is part of “A Feeling of Itself”, a three-part program developed by Project for Empty Space, Lives In Translation (@litrutgers), and the Design Consortium at Rutgers University–Newark, unfolding across multiple Newark sites from March through June. Learn more at projectforemptyspace.org/afeelingofitself by @chantista

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5 months ago

This Saturday!

Join PES, Lives in Translation @litrutgers, and Para KIDS! @parakidsbooks on Saturday, May 9th at 📍800 Broad Street, Newark, for a day of workshops and creative art-making! 🌈🖍️📚

Para KIDS!, a bilingual education company, empowers youth to feel confident in both English and Spanish. The day will feature hands-on crafts ✂️, coloring activities 🎨, and bilingual bingo worksheets —all inspired by themes of friendship and immigration. 📖 There will be a special reading and book giveaway at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM.

📘 In addition, Para KIDS! publications will be on view in the exhibition, and a limited number will be available to take home. Featured titles include Sara’s New Country and New Friend / El Nuevo País y la Nueva Amiga de Sara and Sara’s Friendship Passport / El Pasaporte de Amistad de Sara / Passaporte de Amizade sa Sara, all part of a multilingual library curated by Lives In Translation.

⬆️ RSVP via Link in Bio!

✨ The event is part of A Feeling of Itself, a three-part program developed by Project for Empty Space, Lives in Translation, and the Design Consortium at Rutgers University–Newark unfolding across multiple Newark sites from March through June 2026. by @chantista

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5 months ago

🌟Families! Join us on Saturday, May 9, from 11 AM to 3 PM for “Sounds Like Home/Suena a Casa”, co-hosted by Para KIDS @parakidsbooks! There will be a special reading and book giveaway at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. ⬆️ RSVP via Link in Bio!

✨The event is part of “A Feeling of Itself,” a three-part program developed by Project for Empty Space, Lives in Translation @litrutgers, and the Design Consortium at Rutgers University–Newark, led by designers Chantal Fischzang @chantista and Gisela Ochoa @gise.la.co, unfolding across multiple Newark sites from March through June 2026. The event will take place at 📍800 Broad St, Newark, NJ 07102, within the exhibition space.

📚Para KIDS!, a bilingual education company, empowers youth to feel confident in both English and Spanish. The day will feature hands-on crafts, coloring activities, and bilingual bingo worksheets—all inspired by themes of friendship and immigration.

In addition, Para KIDS! publications will be on view in the exhibition, and a limited number will be available to take home. Featured titles include “Sara’s New Country and New Friend / El Nuevo País y la Nueva Amiga de Sara” and “Sara’s Friendship Passport / El Pasaporte de Amistad de Sara,” all part of a multilingual library curated by Lives In Translation. taken in Project For Empty Space by @chantista

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5 months ago

✨ This past week, A Feeling of Itself opened at Project for Empty Space.

Created in collaboration with Lives in Translation, the Design Consortium at Express Newark, and designers Chantal Fischzang and Gisela Ochoa, the exhibition explores the richness, beauty, and complexity of living between languages.

Rooted in the concept of arraigo—a sense of belonging shaped through one’s roots—A Feeling of Itself brings together bilingual interviews, photography, typography, and data visualization to show how translation can be a powerful form of cultural connection, collective memory, and care. Slide for images of the exhibition by Carlos Hernandez.

Housed in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at Rutgers University–Newark, Lives in Translation pairs multilingual students with community organizations to support translation, interpretation, and documentation of linguistic diversity across New Jersey. The program reflects the many languages that shape our communities and advocates for expanded language access as a matter of equity and public service. Among other languages, the program works with Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Portuguese, Gujarati, Arabic, Polish, Haitian Creole, Russian, Hindi, Tagalog, Italian, Vietnamese, Urdu, and French—reflecting the 15 most-used languages in New Jersey.

At a time when multilingual identity and migrant/immigrant communities face increasing scrutiny, A Feeling of Itself affirms language diversity as a source of dignity, power, and belonging—and celebrates multilingualism not as a barrier, but as a creative and civic strength that defines Newark’s past, present, and future.

📍 Visit A Feeling of Itself at Project for Empty Space
800 Broad St, Newark, NJ
Tuesday–Friday, 11am–6pm
On view through June 1, 2026 by @chantista

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6 months ago

👏 Thank you to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of “A Feeling of Itself”! Congratulations to Chantal, Gisela, and the Lives in Translation team - what an amazing night! Scroll to see some highlights! ✨

The reception featured a performance by YEIMY (@yeiei.y) and welcome remarks from Lives in Translation students Alma Garcia and Esperanza Santos; Senator M. Teresa Ruiz Senate Majority Leader - District 29 (@senmteresaruiz); Rutgers University-Newark Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson (@jrobinsonphd); representatives from Lives In Translation (@litrutgers); and the lead designers Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gise.la.co).

➡️ “A Feeling of Itself” explores the richness and complexity of living between languages. Rooted in the concept of arraigo—a sense of belonging shaped through one’s roots—the exhibition layers bilingual interviews, photography, typography, and data visualization to illuminate how translation becomes a powerful form of cultural connection. At a time when multilingual identity and migrant/immigrant communities face increasing scrutiny and political attack, this exhibition asserts language diversity as a source of power, dignity, and collective memory. “A Feeling of Itself” celebrates multilingualism not as a barrier, but as a creative and civic strength that defines Newark’s past, present, and future.

Visit “A Feeling of Itself” at our 800 Broad St. location, Tuesday - Friday from 11am - 6pm, through June 1, 2026.

Learn more at 📲 www.projectforemptyspace.org/afeelingofitself!

📸 @carloshernandezstudios by @chantista

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6 months ago

“A Feeling of Itself” opens tomorrow, Thursday, April 2nd, and kicks off a series of programs exploring language, culture, technology, and community through conversations, interactive experiences, and opportunities for all ages to participate! 👏

Learn more and RSVP via 🔗 link in bio!

Tomorrow’s reception includes a special celebration beginning at 6:00 PM, performance by YEIMY and welcome remarks from Lives in Translation students Alma Garcia and Esperanza Santos; Senator M. Teresa Ruiz Senate Majority Leader - District 29 (@senmteresaruiz); Rutgers University-Newark Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson (@jrobinsonphd); representatives from Lives In Translation; and the lead designers Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gise.la.co).

✨ PROGRAM OF EVENTS ✨

➡️ AI and Human Expertise in Translator Training with Sarita Monjane Henriksen (@monjanehenriksen)
⏰ Tuesday, April 14th at 2:30 pm
🍴Refreshments by Teixeira’s Bakery, Newark, NJ

➡️ Languages In The City: A Language Documentation Workshop with Ross Perlin (@languagecitybook)
⏰ Thursday, April 21st at 11:30AM & 2:30PM
🍴Refreshments by Taino’s Kitchen, Newark, NJ

➡️ Fire in Every Direction with Tareq Baconi
⏰ Monday, April 27th at 5:30PM

➡️ Sounds Like Home / Suena a Casa Family Day Co-hosted by ParaKids (@parakidsbooks)
⏰ Saturday, May 9, 11 - 3pm

➡️ “Ilumina” Light Installation Unveiling & Block Party
⏰ Date to be announced soon! by @chantista

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6 months ago

🗣️ Join Project for Empty Space on April 2, from 6–8 PM at 📍 800 Broad Street for the opening reception of “A Feeling of Itself”, an exhibition presented in collaboration with Lives in Translation (@litrutgers) and the Design Consortium at Rutgers University-Newark (@acm_gd), led by designers Chantal Fischzang (@chantista) and Gisela Ochoa (@gise.la.co), and Design Consortium designers Jhoselyn Contreras and Yulisbeth Rojas.

RSVP via 🔗 link in bio!

➡️ This exhibition is part two of a three-part program unfolding across multiple sites throughout Newark from March through June 2026. In addition to the exhibition at Project for Empty Space, the work will be featured in a window installation at 19 Williams Street in Newark, presented in partnership with Teachers Village and RBH Group. The project culminates in a site-specific lighting installation across PES’ exterior façade on Edison Place, transforming the building itself into a beacon that connects language and light.

➡️ “A Feeling of Itself” explores the richness and complexity of living between languages. Rooted in the concept of “arraigo”—a sense of belonging shaped through one’s roots—the exhibition layers bilingual interviews, photography, typography, and data visualization to illuminate how translation becomes a powerful form of cultural connection. At a time when multilingual identity and migrant/immigrant communities face increasing scrutiny and political attack, this exhibition asserts language diversity as a source of power, dignity, and collective memory. A Feeling of Itself celebrates multilingualism not as a barrier, but as a creative and civic strength that defines Newark’s past, present, and future.

Learn more at 📲 www.projectforemptyspace.org/afeelingofitself! by @chantista

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6 months ago