Voices From the Field

“Money makes the world go around The world go around, the world go around Money makes the world go around The clinking, clanking sound of Money, money, money, money” - Cabaret Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey sang their hearts out in “Cabaret” to remind us of the power of capital, and in the sixty years since the song “Money, Money” was first written, nothing has changed. Money remains the driving...

NJEDA’s recent initiative is dedicated to funding and investing in the arts, specifically in regard to their grant ventures A.R.T. Phase I, A.R.T. Phase II, and the C.A.F.E. Program. At the time, the recipients for the $15 million A.R.T. Phase II grant had not yet been announced but we are excited to share that thirty-nine organizations across New Jersey were awarded significant grants under the...

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States, also recognized as the Semiquincentennial. Much has happened in our short tenure as a union, and we turn to the historians, and often the artists, among us to make sense of our storied and complicated past. Today’s voice from the field is Noelle Lorraine Williams, a Newark-based artist and historian, and Director of the African American...

In a nation easily threatened by the chaos of change, equity and diversity have become contentious in an increasingly polarized world. Despite their definitions reflecting fairness and justice , these words have been targeted as “radical” and antithetical to a healthy society. Statistics state otherwise. The benefits of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in the workplace are clear. According to HR...

Healthcare in the United States is a hot-button topic, inundating news media almost daily, and yet perhaps not a topic you would expect to appear in a conversation regarding the arts and humanities. However, the practice of social prescribing is slowly entering the mainstream, and organizations like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) are working to ensure the practice thrives. The...

A vibrant mural beckons passersby with its bright yellow background and multicolored art, juxtaposed alongside the gray, muted colors of the surrounding buildings. The red text above its open windows reads “Brick N Kulture Event Space.” The neon and sparkling hues filling the mural are enough to inspire curiosity. Strangers wander into the adjoining Cultural Collective Café to ask questions, only...

These are tumultuous and uncertain times. The hyperpartisan nature of the United States’ political landscape is worrying, no matter where you find yourself on the political spectrum. There is one underlying yet indisputable fact dominating news cycles, and that is the division of these United States. As then-senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln once said in 1858, "a house divided against itself...

In preparing to write this article about the importance of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) funding and investment in the arts, I visited their website to learn more about their programming. The bevy of readily available information makes it clear just how much the NJEDA is doing to spark economic development in New Jersey through innovative strategies that are serving as a...

The nonprofit world and the arts world have been upended in recent months as the new administration’s policy changes have begun to take effect. A number of executive orders have been enacted since the beginning of the new term in January, so many that it can be difficult to track. The Americans for the Arts Action Fund has done a great job of breaking down the timeline and cataloging these orders...

Housing instability in New Jersey is rising at an alarming rate. Over 1 in 4 families do not have any emergency savings at all, creating economic struggle and the inability to afford basic necessities. While these facts are unsettling, organizations are working overtime to battle these conditions and support their community. HomeFront — founded by Connie Mercer and located in Lawrenceville, New...