Project for Empty Space is located in Newark, NJ, and Chinatown, NYC, and has various programs that serve creative communities. PES centers culture makers and firmly believes that Artists Make Futures.


Upcoming in Newark

  • Black Revolutionary Women: 250 Years of a Colony Within a Colony

    800 Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson Boulevard - Project for Empty Space presents Black Revolutionary Women: 250 Years of a Colony Within a Colony, a new exhibition and series of community events by Cycle 9 AIR Noelle Lorraine Williams. The exhibition opens on Juneteenth, 2026, with a public reception from 6:00–9:00 PM.

  • PES SUMMER STUDIO

    110 EDISON PL - This summer, Project for Empty Space is transforming its exhibition space at Ironside Newark into a gathering place for free, artist-led workshops. PES SUMMER STUDIO, led by past and present Artists In Residence, invites participants of all ages to experiment with new materials, develop creative skills, and engage with contemporary artistic practices.


On View In NYC | David Antonio Cruz: black/backroom

  • 128 BAXTER ST, NYC - David Antonio Cruz’s black/backroom at PES Futures considers future-making through the lens of both personal and collective historical precedence. As part of a continuation of Cruz’s unveiling of Queer-Brown-Histories, the artist shapes potentialities through intersecting themes of loss, desire, and the legacy of Cruz's grandparents' land - Puerto Rico. black/backroom is on view from March 17, 2026 through June 5, 2026.


Public Art

  • Eirini Linardaki: Constellation Bench

    MULBERRY COMMONS, NEWARK - Newark Grounds, led by Project for Empty Space in collaboration with its civic and cultural partners, is proud to announce the unveiling of Constellation Bench, a new public sculpture by artist Eirini Linardaki. The work is located at Mulberry Commons in Newark, New Jersey, and will remain on view through August 2026.

  • CITY OF CREATORS

    CITY OF CREATORS is a public art initiative that activates vacant storefronts in Downtown Newark by transforming empty retail spaces into temporary sites for art, storytelling, and community engagement. Partners include Invest Newark, the Newark Urban Enterprise Zone, the City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Newark Downtown District, Newark Alliance, the Newark Arts & Education District, and Project for Empty Space.


Our Locations

PROJECT FOR EMPTY SPACE @ 800 BROAD
800 Broad St, Newark, NJ 07102

PES STUDIOS
800 Broad St, Newark, NJ 07102

PROJECT FOR EMPTY SPACE @ IRONSIDE NEWARK
110 Edison Pl, Newark, NJ 07102

PES FUTURES
128 Baxter St, New York, NY 10013

NEWARK GROUNDS
Edison Pl, Newark, NJ

BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) MOBILE EXHIBITION
Nationwide

Above image: Helina Metaferia, The Work (Meeting Table), Detail, 2024.