Five years ago, I put a personal and institutional moratorium on making theatre. coLAB Arts had a massive question that had been hanging in the air for the five years since the organization first started: Why do we exist? Why does there need to be another loosely held together group of emerging interdisciplinary artists in New Jersey making work for themselves? And why New Brunswick? We had...

Nearly 300 arts professionals from across New Jersey gathered at Princeton University’s Lewis Arts complex and McCarter Theatre Center on June 7 for the Thrive Arts Conference to explore that very question. Thrive is presented every other year through a partnership among ArtPride New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Lewis Center or the Arts at Princeton. The fourth edition...

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 30th, 31st and June 1st 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. All...

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...