The Newark Museum will celebrate its 100-hour Centennial Celebration Marathon, a multi-cultural extravaganza offered, round-the-clock, from 10:30 a.m. on April 22 to 6:00 p.m. on April 26.

The imaginative programs planned for the Centennial Celebration include demonstrations and workshops in art forms from quilting and pottery; armchair talks with members of the Museum’s distinguished curatorial staff and other scholars; dance lessons and then the opportunity to use what you’ve learned at Motown, Salsa and Swing dance parties; a 100 Amazing Object treasure hunt through the Museum’s 80 galleries from the permanent collection; exciting planetarium experiences, and multicultural, multi-ethnic performing arts presentations by professional musicians and dancers.

A community birthday party will conclude the 100-hour marathon on Sunday, April 26, complete with a birthday cake, special musical performances by Dr. K’s Motown Revue, and dancing in the garden. The Newark Museum was founded in April, 1909, by John Cotton Dana, Director of the Newark Library. A national revolutionizing influence on both librarianship and museums, Dana’s intense interest in contemporary American art, at a time when other museums were concentrating on European masters, resulted in an important core collection of 19th and early 20th century works. That interest is reflected today in the Museum’s Collection of American art, considered one of the finest in the country.

The initial art exhibition for the Centennial, Unbounded: New Art for a New Century, opened in February and will run through August 16. The exhibition highlights the Newark Museum’s expansive and global approach to contemporary art by creating unexpected connections or groupings that transcend traditional divisions based on geography, genre or media. All the works are from the Museum’s permanent collection.

The first of a series of site-specific, single-artist Centennial commissions, InsectaFantasia has been installed in the historic Ballantine House and has received critical praise. The installation will remain on view through June 14.

For a complete calendar of marathon activities and centennial celebration exhibitions, visit newarkmuseum.org or call 973-596-6550.