Krystle Lemonias is a visual artist, labor activist, and educator whose work examines labor, migration, class, and Black diasporic identity. Using found materials, textiles, and personal iconography, she highlights the lives of Black workers and caregivers often overlooked within systems of power. Her work has been exhibited at Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Blum & Poe, and the Hunterdon Art Museum. Lemonias earned a BFA from New Jersey City University and an MFA from the University of South Florida. She is currently Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at Rowan University.
krystlelemonias.com | @empress1989kl

Cultural foods and neighborhood foodways are living expressions of Newark’s immigrant and diasporic communities. Across the city, food carries stories of migration, resilience, adaptation, and cultural pride through family recipes, local restaurants, bakeries, markets, and shared meals. Newark’s culinary landscape reflects the influence of Black American, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American, West African, and various European immigrant communities whose traditions shape everyday life.

From arroz con gandules and pastelitos to pão de queijo, empanadas, jollof rice, patties, and soul food staples, these dishes become markers of memory, celebration, and belonging. This exploration positions food as both an everyday practice and a cultural archive through which communities preserve heritage, sustain connection, and create home across generations.

• Isle 15 Caribbean Crafted Cuisine & Bar
  18 Green St.
  isle15.com

• La Cocina
  61 New St.
  lacocinanewark.com

• Masala Cafe & Deli
  27 Academy St.
  ordermasalacafenj.com

• Sihana Bistro
  159 Washington St.
  sihanabistro.com

• Taino’s Kitchen
  85 Halsey St.
  ordertainos.com