Voices from the Field Blog

Elections are determined by those who make their voices heard, and with 13 seats up for election in New Jersey’s midterms, there’s a lot to be said. Moreover, there’s a lot at stake in the November 6 election. For example, influential arts supporter and chair of the Appropriations Committee, Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ11), is retiring. Rep. Frelinghuysen’s moderate conservative voice...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

By now, you have probably read that the President’s budget may include elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts. ArtPride New Jersey is aware of the situation, and we are in the process of receiving confirmations and updates from our national partners, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). In the meantime, while this is bad news, it is...

One of my many jobs when I was the Executive Director of the New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts was to work as “crisis manager” for the very many arts nonprofits that would call with issues on a daily basis. Since the main job of an arts organization executive director is handling day-to-day matters and putting out their own crisis ‘fires,’ I’d often get calls when all hell broke loose on a...

We have until the end of the year let everyone know that the nonprofit arts industry makes a real difference to New Jersey’s economy. If you’ve not yet completed the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 organizational survey online, here a chance to still be counted by completing a ONE PAGE PAPER SURVEY! The survey is available as a Word doc and as a PDF. When completed, please email, USPS mail, or fax...