Voices from the Field Blog

Celebrate All 48 Blocks of Atlantic City

What is “48 Blocks Atlantic City? Atlantic City is fairly small as cities go. It stretches only 48 blocks from the inlet to neighboring Ventnor City. Tucked within those 48 blocks, in the shadows of towering casino-hotels, is a community of wonderfully diverse and creative residents. “48 Blocks Atlantic City” is a weekend-long celebration of Atlantic City’s arts, history, culture, and community...

Making Art Matters Real

No matter how you get your news, you have to admit that there is a lot of it. The delivery of news is rapidly changing the way and rate that we respond to it. As a result, too often there is little time to really think about the news and the content we receive before resorting to social media with an immediate emotional response. We end up with a cluttered email inbox and social media news feed...

One Big Tool for the Arts Advocacy Toolkit

Did you attend an arts event last year? A performance, exhibit, music festival, or poetry reading? If you did, you are in great company. New Jersey nonprofit arts groups drew more than 7.5 million people to their programs in 2015—that’s four times more than all New Jersey professional sports events! And those same groups and audiences generated a half billion dollars for the state’s economy. When...

The Arts in New Jersey are a Multimillion-Dollar Business

According to Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 – a national economic impact study released June 17 by Americans for the Arts– the nonprofit arts and culture sector in New Jersey is a $519.8 million industry, supporting 14,342 full-time equivalent jobs and yielding $41 million in local and state government revenue. ArtPride worked with Americans for the Arts and five local partners–Cape May, Cumberland...

When Worlds Collide—Public Policy, History and Art

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Cold War Glassboro Summit between then Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Rowan University Department of Theatre and Dance has been commissioned to create a live, family-friendly public performance on June 24, 2017. The event will occur in front of the Hollybush Mansion on Rowan’s main campus in Glassboro, where...

When the Popular Vote Counts

I’d be lying if I said just being nominated was enough. We love winning a People’s Choice award. Sure, our egos puff up for a few minutes, there may be a couple of high-fives, and some congratulatory emails from our esteemed board members—and that all feels good. Really good. But the truth is, there’s tremendous personal satisfaction across the organization when we are recognized by the voting...

NJ Conference on Tourism 2016

As arts organizations, it's important to stay connected to our New Jersey tourism partners. After all, we share the same dedicated revenue source (NJ Hotel/Motel Occupancy Fee) and we know that cultural tourism is critical to our state’s tourism industry. The NJ Travel Industry Association's Conference on Tourism is a great opportunity to network with colleagues in the tourism industry and...

7 Ways a Performing Arts Center Can Help Build Community

In today's American culturescape, the performing arts center (PAC) is often the anchor arts institution and a key contributor to local economic rejuvenation. The PAC delivers short-term fiscal impact with its ongoing schedule of events drawing visitors whose spending in the surrounding commercial milieu creates a “ripple effect” that circulates revenue throughout a network of restaurants, retail...

NJTIA Conference on Tourism 2015

You may ask, "Why should we, as an arts organization, attend the NJ Travel Industry Association's Conference on Tourism?" Some things to consider: Funding for the arts, history and tourism is provided by the Hotel/Motel Occupancy Fee and all three sectors have launched a cooperative campaign to restore that funding. State and municipal bed tax receipts grew 3.7% in 2013. (Source: 2013 Tourism...

ArtPride NJ Welcomes New President & CEO

ArtPride New Jersey–a coalition of arts organizations and individuals that advocates at local, state and national levels for funding, support and recognition of the arts as vital to New Jersey’s quality of life–is pleased to announce two staff changes. Adam Perle, former Vice President of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been hired in the new role of President & CEO with ArtPride...