Eight Mason Gross grads have created art work on display as part of this year’s Windows of Understanding social justice public art initiative, taking place across communities in Middlesex and Union counties. The ninth-annual Windows of Understanding project kicked off on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and runs through March 31, 2026. The New Brunswick Community Arts Council, Mason Gross, Highland Park Arts Commission, and Rahway’s ASquared partnered on this year’s initiative, which unites New Jersey artists, organizations, and businesses to promote awareness and engagement around social justice issues impacting local communities.
“The project is not only about artistic expression of social justice issues, but relationship building,” Cassandra Oliveras-Moreno, a Windows of Understanding co-founder, Rutgers alum, and administrator of communications and collaboration in the Department of Art & Design, has said. “That is the heart of the project.”
Founded in 2017, Windows of Understanding’s goal has always been to transform “main street” spaces into literal windows of understanding. The project is meant to serve as a creative, community-building response to negativity and hate often perpetuated in the media. The initiative creates art installations that address critical social justice issues by pairing select non-profit organizations with artists and youth to bring their missions to life through visual language. Curating that art into storefront windows and local libraries, the project facilitates empathetic, solutions-driven storytelling that invites community participation and cuts across cultural boundaries. In observance of the 50th anniversary of Mason Gross School of the Arts, all artists featured in New Brunswick are Mason Gross alumni.
Mason Gross alumni involved in the project include the following:
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Audrey Arias-Justo, Latino Action Network at New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce
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Sarah and Usra Attalla, Meals on Wheels, Greater New Brunswick at Gallo Felix on French Street
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Alfred Dudley III, PRAHD at Perth Amboy Teen Center
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Rachel Herring, Global Grace Health Be the Change NJ at NBPAC
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Anthony Ikemoto, Middlesex County RIDE at Gallo Felix on French Street
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Tehyla McLeod, Elijah’s Promise at the Heldrich Hotel (facing George Street)
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Ria Monga, NJ Consortium for Immigrant Children on Church Street
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Cass Sicherer, Human Rights Watch at the Heldrich Hotel (facing George Street)
This year’s theme is “Mobilizing Change,” focusing on initiatives mobilizing both literally and figuratively to provide urgent resources to local communities ranging from food to transportation, hygiene products, healthcare, and immigration advocacy. Featured artworks are on display at venues throughout New Brunswick, Highland Park, Perth Amboy, Rahway, and South Plainfield.
View a complete list of featured organizations, participating storefronts and artists, and a calendar of free events.
Image credit: Alum Cass Sicherer with art illuminating the work of Human Rights Watch. Sicherer’s work is on display at the Heldrich Hotel in downtown New Brunswick through March 31, 2026. Courtesy of Windows of Understanding