Voices From the Field

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...

The New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival will celebrate the third year of its revival on May 30 th , 31 st and June 1 st at Ocean County College in Toms River. Thousands of students and teachers from all 21 counties, along with professional artists and leaders in arts advocacy will celebrate the important role the arts play in enriching all of New Jersey at this three-day, state-wide arts festival....

I recently had the opportunity to plan and co-host a Council of New Jersey Grantmakers (CNJG) funder briefing in collaboration with New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The session featured nationally recognized philanthropy thought-leaders Holly Sidford and Edwin Torres. They spoke about inequities in philanthropic giving to arts and culture organizations, and although the session focused on the...

ArtPride New Jersey Filled with new facts and figures about how the arts boost the economy , and a burning desire to share stories of how art makes a difference in our lives, 37 New Jersey arts advocates made the trip to the nation’s capital to remind members of the U.S. Congress that eliminating our cultural agencies is unacceptable. Four members of the Educational Theatre Association ’s N.J....

So by now, you may have heard of this thing called “creative placemaking,” and it’s got something to do with public art and making places better. That’s nice, but isn’t that what communities have been doing for a long time? Why are so many people – especially funders – talking about it? Is it just old wine in a new bottle? Even though it might look like something you’ve seen in the glass, it’s a...

By the time you read this, Governor Phil Murphy will be aggressively tackling the many opportunities and challenges facing New Jersey with the enthusiasm and vigor that is characteristic of a brand new administration. His commitment to a “stronger and fairer” New Jersey is obvious in cabinet appointments that reflect diverse leadership from a variety of sectors and the Garden State’s multicultural...

From November 11-13, 650+ arts marketers from across the country came together in Memphis, TN, to learn how the marketing strategies, tools and decisions of today will play a pivotal role in creating our field’s tomorrow. ArtPride New Jersey’s Web Content & Promotions Manager, Emily Ambash, and I (Koren Rife, Marketing & Communications Manager, at your service) attended the National Arts Marketing...

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...

This special Voices from the Field comes from our own Ann Marie Miller in honor of National Arts Education Week (September 10-16). Miller recently interviewed Jada Quin, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from Howell, NJ. Now entering her senior year in high school, Jada is in marching band, concert band, chorus and taking classwork in music theory. Passed by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275...

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...