Flash Mob in Newark Sunday is Protest Against Gun Violence

ART = AMMO Artists/Activists Against Gun Violence, a coalition of concerned people throughout Newark, is holding a flash mob to call attention to the scourge of gun violence. The “art-meets-flash mob” performance, which will take place on May 19 at 2pm in Washington Park, Broad Street and Washinhgton Place, will create a visual reflection of the destruction caused by gun violence.

A rehearsal has been scheduled for 1 pm.

“Artists have a responsibility to create work that elicits a response. Artists have the power to initiate empathy and introspection – a first step toward changing attitudes,” said Lorin Latarro, a Broadway performer and choreographer, who is the founder of the concept.

At a singular moment, the performers will freeze their hands in the air, then slowly melt to the floor in a lifeless position. The participants will trace an outline of their bodies with chalk and write a word or statistic inside the form such as “30,000 a year”, a reference to the number of lives lost annually in America to gun violence.

For more information and to see an example of the performance click here.

The event is being organized by Nicola Bocour who works for Ceasefire NJ, and Heather Harrington, an adjunct professor of modern dance at Kean University