The Creative Side of JCAST, Jersey City, and a Life Defined by Curiosity, Change, and Fearless Reinvention
Some conversations feel less like interviews and more like masterclasses in how to live.
Sitting down with Atim Annette Oton, the producer of the 36th Annual Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (JCAST), quickly became one of those conversations.
Architect, educator, curator, entrepreneur, retailer, storyteller, cultural strategist, and now one of the key figures shaping the future of Jersey City’s arts community, Oton embodies something increasingly rare: a willingness to embrace change rather than fear it.
Her story begins far from Jersey City.
Born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and an American mother with roots in Trinidad and Jamaica, Oton grew up immersed in multiple cultures, perspectives, and ways of seeing the world. Long before diversity became a buzzword, it was simply her reality.
“I don’t look at things from the center,” she explained. “I look from the peripheries.”
That perspective has become one of the defining characteristics of her life and career.
Growing up between cultures taught her to observe differently, listen differently, and understand that every story contains layers that are often overlooked.
It is a perspective that would later shape everything she touched.
Architecture as a Way of Understanding People
Many architects speak about buildings.
Oton speaks about people.
She knew she wanted to become an architect when she was nine years old, but her fascination was never limited to structures themselves.
What interested her most was how people live inside them.
While architecture often focuses on form, scale, and appearance, Oton has always been drawn to the human experience hidden within those walls.
“You experience space differently from the inside,” she said.
That simple observation reveals much about her approach to creativity and leadership.
Whether designing spaces, producing cultural events, or mentoring artists, her focus remains on the people who inhabit those environments.
After studying architecture in New York and London, she built a successful career that eventually expanded beyond design. A competition led her into publishing, where she launched a magazine that later helped secure a position as Associate Chair of Product Design at Parsons School of Design.
From there she entered retail, helping artists and designers learn something many creative professionals struggle with: how to sell their work.
The thread connecting all these experiences is remarkably consistent.
She has always been interested in helping creative people build sustainable lives.
The Courage to Reinvent Yourself
One of the most striking themes throughout Oton’s journey is her comfort with change.
Many people spend years debating whether to make a major life transition.
She simply makes it.
Architecture led to publishing.
Publishing led to education.
Education led to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship led to curating.
Curating led to cultural leadership.
Each chapter emerged not from rigid planning but from a willingness to listen to where life was pulling her.
For Oton, change is not something to fear.
It is something to anticipate.
She described recognizing major shifts in her life years before they arrive, sensing them long before they become reality.
Rather than resisting those transitions, she prepares for them.
That mindset may stem from her parents, both of whom made extraordinary leaps of their own.
Her mother left the United States for Nigeria in the early 1960s. Her father came to America for school during the 1950s.
Growing up surrounded by people willing to take risks left a lasting impression.
“What are you waiting for?” she asks.
Life, she believes, is far too short to postpone the things that matter most.
A Citizen of Many Cities
Ask Oton to name her favorite place in the world and she refuses.
Not because she lacks options, but because she loves too many places.
Nigeria.
London.
Paris.
Brooklyn.
Jersey City.
Brazil.
India.
Korea.
Each location represents a chapter rather than a ranking.
What fascinates her most is movement itself.
She speaks about cities the way some people speak about old friends. Every place carries its own lessons, memories, and rhythms.
Getting lost, she says, has often been one of her greatest teachers.
Rather than viewing uncertainty as something negative, she embraces it as an opportunity to discover something unexpected.
This curiosity continues to shape her daily life.
Even now, she intentionally changes walking routes, explores unfamiliar neighborhoods, and seeks new experiences simply to avoid becoming trapped by routine.
“The sun comes up and the sun goes down,” she reflected. “What you do in between matters.”
Leading JCAST Into a New Era
When Oton accepted the role of producing the 36th Annual Jersey City Art & Studio Tour, she inherited one of the city’s most important cultural institutions.
She also inherited a challenge.
How do you honor decades of history while expanding the event’s relevance for the future?
Her answer was ambitious.
Rather than treating JCAST solely as a visual arts event, Oton assembled a team of six women and began reimagining the festival as a broader cultural ecosystem.
Music.
Poetry.
Spoken word.
Film.
Performance.
Technology.
Business.
Wellness.
All would become part of the conversation.
For Oton, this expansion wasn’t simply about programming.
It was about recognizing the reality of contemporary creative life.
Artists do not exist in isolation.
Neither should arts festivals.
By welcoming multiple disciplines and audiences into the fold, she hopes to create a more connected and sustainable cultural community.
The result is one of the most expansive visions JCAST has seen in years.
More than 180 locations, events, exhibitions, performances, talks, and studio visits are helping reshape how people experience art across Jersey City.
Building an Arts Ecosystem
Throughout the conversation, Oton returned repeatedly to one idea: ecosystem.
Not individual artists.
Not individual institutions.
An ecosystem.
She believes Jersey City possesses extraordinary creative potential.
What concerns her is whether enough support exists to sustain that potential over the long term.
Artists need affordable space.
They need audiences.
They need collectors.
They need meaningful investment from both public and private sectors.
Most importantly, they need connections beyond their own circles.
Oton sees JCAST as an opportunity to bridge those gaps.
Rather than existing as an event where artists simply visit other artists, she wants the broader community involved.
Residents.
Business owners.
Entrepreneurs.
Students.
Visitors.
Collectors.
Anyone curious about creativity.
Her vision is simple but powerful.
Art should not exist on the sidelines of city life.
It should sit at the center.
Lessons From a Life Fully Lived
Perhaps the most memorable part of speaking with Atim Annette Oton was her perspective on regret.
She told a story about missing one of Miles Davis’s final concerts.
It remains one of the few experiences she wishes she had not passed up.
The lesson stayed with her.
If there is something you truly want to experience, do it.
If there is somewhere you want to go, go.
If there is a project calling your name, begin.
That philosophy runs through everything she does.
It explains her willingness to change careers.
It explains her international travels.
It explains her commitment to artists.
And it explains why she continues pushing boundaries even after decades of professional success.
For Oton, life is not about finding one destination.
It is about remaining open to the next chapter.
As Jersey City’s creative community continues evolving, leaders like Atim Annette Oton remind us that the most important thing we can build isn’t necessarily a building, a festival, or even an artwork.
It is possibility.
And sometimes possibility begins simply by being willing to take the first step into the unknown.
Contact JCAST
For questions or additional information about the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (JCAST), please contact:
Email: contact@jerseycityarts.org
Telephone: (201) 677-8230