Akintola Hanif

Akintola Hanif is an artist living and working in Newark, New Jersey. His work is heavily rooted in cross-cultural photojournalism, fine art photography, media coverage, documentation of quality of life, education, and class issues. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of HYCIDE, a photography magazine dedicated to subculture, art, and conflict. In 2015, Hanif worked with “Project Connect” from Bridges Outreach Inc, a homeless assistance organization, to host a four-month long photography workshop with the homeless of Newark.

His photography has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the Tri-State area; in such venues as The Guggenheim Museum, RUSH Arts Gallery, Corridor Gallery, Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, MoCADA Museum, Princeton University, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hanif’s mural is one of two printed on large format reprographic paper. The images include the faces of Newark youth and the expressions that he encounters on his journeys throughout the city. This is his first photographic mural in the City of Newark.

"It's almost my purpose as a man and an artist just to never forget the ones who need us most, and to start with the young, and invest in them."

ELM ST. > WALNUT ST.

Invest in our Youth

(Never Forget the Ones That Need Us Most)

LOCATION: PENNINGTON STREET > TICHENOR STREET

Hanif’s mural is comprised of photographs taken from his first photo series ever in, 2003. It is an homage to the children and the community that are often left out of our successes. This is the artist’s way of including them and reminding everybody watching that our young people need our support.