On August 1st, Jacob Ginga will begin his residency for We Share One Sky (NBPT Murals) — a public art murals project spearheaded by Newburyport Art, in collaboration with the Tannery Marketplace, Blochaus Art Gallery, and the City of Newburyport, with generous support from the Essex County Community Foundation’s (ECCF’s) Creative County Initiative (CCI).
This page will receive some additional updates as the project evolves, but the latest updates will be posted on social media. To stay in the loop and track the project, follow both Newburyport Art and Jake Ginga (“Makerjake”) on Instagram!
Jake will be working on the west side of Mill #3, along Independent Street. A precise work timetable is not available and work will be completed as weather permits.
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Makerjake, a pseudonym for artist and educator Jake Ginga, is well known in Massachusetts for his unique approach to portraiture and the seamless integration of indigenous iconography and contemporary design elements. Don Wilkinson wrote, "All are bold influences that shouldn't work with the original source material. But it does. There's a saying: Go bold or go home. Makerjake does both".
Jake is an only child, and his mother is the youngest in a large indigenous family. Jake had art all around him growing up, his mother is a painter, and his uncles are all woodworkers, silversmiths, bead workers, and experts of various indigenous crafts. While he didn't get into art until later in high school, he chose to pursue it in college, earning a BFA in Art Education from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a Masters in Education from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
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Newburyport Art has partnered with the Tannery Marketplace, Blochaus Art Gallery, and the City of Newburyport, to connect and engage residents and visitors with Newburyport through a series of large-scale, exterior mural paintings. The project includes commissioned work from muralists Felipe Ortiz (Lead Artist), Sophy Tuttle, and Jake Ginga, with additional work commissioned from artists selected through an application process. (Applications are now closed with the selection process underway.)
The murals will largely highlight minority voices and lesser-known perspectives of Newburyport, utilizing contemporary, non-traditional imagery to promote and embed them into the fabric of the City. Educational programming with hands-on opportunities — particularly for youth — will enable further, in-depth community engagement and dialogue around the theme, mural concepts, and artists’ processes.
The project kicks off in July with Lead Artist Felipe Ortiz working on the south-facing facade of the Tannery Marketplace’s Mill #4, followed by an interactive work for the Hills Gallery at Newburyport Art. In August, Jake Ginga will also work on designated Tannery Marketplace spaces, and Sophy Tuttle will follow. The artists selected through the application process will commence work as early as Fall 2023, continuing through 2024 and possibly into 2025.
The We Share One Sky public art murals project is made possible, thanks in part to the generous support from Essex County Community Foundation through the Creative County Initiative.
