Voices From the Field

At ArtPride New Jersey, we believe the stories behind public investment matter just as much as the dollars themselves. That's why we're continuing to spotlight the transformative impact of the NJEDA A.R.T. Phase II grant program and the organizations putting these resources to work in communities across New Jersey. As the state's arts advocacy organization, our mission is to advance, promote, and...

In June, I had the opportunity to attend AFTACON 2026, the annual conference hosted by Americans for the Arts, alongside hundreds of artists, arts administrators, advocates, educators, and cultural leaders from across the country. The experience was both energizing and affirming, offering a powerful reminder that while our work may happen locally, we are part of a nationwide movement dedicated to...

Voices from the Field has covered the benefits of the A.R.T. Phase II Grant before, and we are at it again. The breadth of assistance this grant has provided to the arts sector across the state should not be underestimated. Thirty-nine different organizations have grown thanks to the fifteen-million-dollar subsidy. This article aims to highlight another such organization, the Monmouth Museum...

“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...