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The nearly 50,000 professional artists who call New Jersey home form the very heart of the cultural community of this state. And this is just the tip of the iceberg when one considers the thousands more for whom artistic creation, performance and interpretation are a vocational, cultural, religious or recreational interest of the highest personal and community priority. Artists are the creative capital of our communities and this is why it is the Arts Council's goal to promote them, encourage them, assist them to achieve their highest ambitions and help a wider public understand and appreciate all that artists do to make New Jersey a better place.
The Council supports artists in several important ways, through a wide array of programs and services that recognizes, encourages and showcases their talents. In turn, such recognition brings their work to the attention of organizations and communities everywhere to embrace and support this remarkable "creative capital" that helps make New Jersey great.
Artists Fellowships: Highly competitive awards to New Jersey artists in 14 different arts disciplines (seven in each year) awarded solely on independent peer panel assessment of artistic quality taken from work samples submitted. The process is anonymous. The awards may be used to support the professional development of the artist. This program is carried out in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. To see a list of current recipients click here.
Folk Arts Apprenticeships: Grants to individuals to encourage cultural communities to continue passing on their valued art forms in traditional settings by providing stipends to master folk artists and craftspersons that can help apprentices develop greater skills. Since 1995 these modest grants have supported more than 100 apprenticeships in dozens of different cultural communities and scores of different art forms, reflecting the rich array of traditional arts in our state. Applications are available in the winter with a deadline for submission in the spring and awards announced in July.
Artists and Communities Grants: Administered as a cosponsored project of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, these grants help underwrite the expenses of artist residencies both in New Jersey and the surrounding mid-Atlantic states. New Jersey artists may go into residence at a site in New Jersey or in another state. The object is to place an artist in a community setting and engage that community in a creative process that illuminates how artistic creativity can meet community needs.
Projects Serving Artists Grants: Awarded annually to support new or expanded projects of eligible organizations whose primary beneficiaries are artists who reside in New Jersey and whose work has or will benefit New Jersey residents. Projects also can be in the form of programs and services that address artists' needs or actual commissioning of artists to create new work.
The Arts Inclusion Program: Since the passage of the Arts Inclusion Act in 1978, this program has led to the commissioning and installation of hundreds of artworks in state financed construction projects. Up to 1.5% of the construction budget is set aside for this purpose. The Council manages the artist selection process and monitors all projects to completion. The Council has had as many as 75 projects in various stages of development, ranging from the purchase of artwork to such major projects as the art for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line. The Council also assists other departments of state government to manage similar projects, such as the 9/11 memorial design competition and major urban parks projects. The Council maintains an extensive Visual Arts Registry to assist the selection teams in identifying both artwork as well as potential artists.
Visual Arts Registry: A visual repository containing over 6,000 (and growing) images of artists' work, the registry permits selection teams to identify prospects for any Arts Inclusion project. It is also used by museum professionals, architects, designers, art consultants and others interested in seeing the works of artists for potential exhibitions, projects, commissions and other like purposes. Any visual artist may submit work.
NJ Arts Annuals: Each year two major visual arts exhibitions are mounted, one in fine arts and one in crafts, at major New Jersey Museums. Please contact the host museum for a prospectus.
Fellowship Showcases: Each year the Council cosponsors the mounting of biannual exhibitions showcases in visual arts and crafts (including electronic media), choreography and creative writing by Council fellowship award winners.
Artist Roundtable: Annual convening open to New Jersey artists in all disciplines to provide an overview of the Council's programs & services and for artists to discuss issues of importance. The Roundtable Format and discussion topics change yearly.
Artists' Career Development Seminars: Each year the Council cosponsors two regional, day-long seminars on topics of relevance for the professional development of New Jersey artists.
South Jersey Arts Facilities Directory (formerly the South Jersey Space Bank): The Arts Facilities Directory is a web-based, searchable database on spaces and venues throughout the eight-county South Jersey region available for artists and arts activity, made possible through a collaboration with Atlantic Cape Community College.
New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts: The Council was instrumental in the founding of the New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and currently helps it operate through a cosponsored project grant to provide affordable legal services to artists and arts organizations.
Arts Management Intern Program: Administered as a cosponsored program with Rutgers University Business and the Arts Program. The objectives of the program are: to provide practical experience to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as other applicants who intend to pursue careers in arts-related professions; to provide opportunities to promising arts administrators with policy and operations experience through working in an NJSCA program or office; and to provide New Jersey arts organizations with a major source of future arts administrators. For more information click here.
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