Yesterday, The Newark Museum of Art announced the formation of the P.L.A.C.E. team (Promoting Legislative and Community Engagement), a new advocacy group who will be charged with deepening the institution’s impact in the surrounding community.
The team will work to leverage existing partnerships, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to create new connections through engagement with elected officials, arts organizations, social service agencies, with the goal of meeting the needs of the community.
“The P.L.A.C.E. team will reinforce the museum’s mission of inclusivity and community building,” said Linda C. Harrison, CEO and Director of The Newark Museum of Art. “This new team will come up with innovative and practical initiatives to meet the changing needs of the community we have served for more than 110 years. Aside from being a physical building located in the City of Newark, it’s critical to serve as an operational entity that serves as a resource to the city, county and state.”
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka recently appointed Harrison to serve as chair of the arts, education and culture committee of the newly formed Newark Reopening and Recovery Strikeforce, a collaboration of city leaders working to create policies and strategies on how to continue to move Newark forward when the COVID-19 threat lessens.
The P.L.A.C.E. team will be led by Mary Dowd, Chief of Staff, and Rena Jordan, Manager of Corporate Relations, who have nearly 30 years of cumulative service to The Newark Museum of Art.
Through their experience in developing programs with both the legislative and community partners, the P.L.A.C.E. team will align engagement through the use of weekly e-blasts, a legislative newsletter, regular correspondence and outreach, research, legislation tracking and webinars.
“As New Jersey’s largest museum, we have cultivated strong relationships with state and local elected officials over the years,” said Dowd. “While we are not able to physically open our doors, we are standing with our leaders to bring much needed relief and resources to the public that we serve.”
“The Newark Museum of Art has served as an anchor of the community, known as a safe, meeting space,” said Jordan. “But we are more than that. This is an institution of people who recognize the value in leveraging resources and bringing changemakers together, all of which we are in dire need of right now.”
The P.L.A.C.E. team is partnering with MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), an interfaith network of food pantries serving Essex County, to host their first event, an online food drive, beginning Friday, May 8 through Friday, May 22. For organizations interested in supporting the online food drive, donations can be made directly to MEND at https://mendnj.org/donate/.
Later in May, the team plans to partner with United Airlines and other organizations to issue a request to the public to donate miles for healthcare workers and others affected by COVID-19.
Community members wishing to help should email Rena Jordan at rjordan@newarkmuseumart.org or Mary Dowd at mdowd@newarkmuseumart.org.
