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Jersey City doles out $1M in arts & culture grants
Funding to benefit 88 creators, organizations
Jessica Perry//May 2, 2023//
Art Fair 14C returned to Jersey City for its fourth edition Nov. 11-13, 2022. - ART FAIR 14C
Art Fair 14C returned to Jersey City for its fourth edition Nov. 11-13, 2022. - ART FAIR 14C
Jersey City doles out $1M in arts & culture grants
Funding to benefit 88 creators, organizations
Jessica Perry//May 2, 2023//
Listen to this articleJersey City is making a historic investment in local arts, approving $1 million in grants that will benefit 88 artists, educational arts programs and arts organizations.
The Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee voted unanimously to approve the funding April 27. According to the city, the support will help to expand the impact and inclusiveness of the arts, build community through art, and develop creative – and economic – opportunities for artists.
Of the grants awarded:
- 68 will go to arts programs and organizations, with an average award of $14,000
- 20 will be awarded as fellowship grants, of $5,000 each, to individual artists
This year’s funding tops the $850,000 that was granted under the program’s first round in February 2022.
According to the city, the funding is a milestone for the efforts of Mayor Steven Fulop’s administration to strengthen support for the arts in Jersey City.
“We are still the first and only municipality in New Jersey to administer an Arts and Culture Trust Fund, and I hope other municipalities will follow suit as they witness the short- and long-term benefits Jersey City experiences as a result of our investment in the arts – from boosting our local economy and improving residents’ well-being to fostering community and driving tourism and revenue to our businesses,” the mayor said in a statement.
In February, Fulop, together with the Office of Cultural Affairs and Art Fair 14C Executive Director Robinson Holloway, announced a partnership to premier Jersey City Art Week. Scheduled for October, the event will include concurrent events hosted by Art Fair 14C (which received a $25,000 arts grant in 2023) and Jersey City Art and Studio Tour to create “a super-sized visual arts experience.”
“Coupled with the major projects underway in Journal Square and elsewhere throughout our City, the fact that we have now allocated nearly $2 million through this voter-approved Trust Fund is a testament to our efforts and the important progress we are making,” Fulop said.
Case in point
Riverview Jazz, a nonprofit that produces jazz shows to and in the community, received a $25,000 grant in the 2023 funding.
“The Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund grant has been incredibly helpful for Riverview Jazz. We run free events for the community all year, but it is often a struggle for us to continuously work year-round to maximize the community benefit,” said Executive Director Bryan Beninghove.
“This fund gives us the ability and flexibility to produce more events of quality for our great City. The JC Arts Trust Fund is a game changer!”
In 2020, Jersey City voters supported implementing a $0.0025 tax as a sustainable funding source for arts and culture. The resulting Trust Fund was designed over a year-long process, according to the city, with the participation of residents and local artists. It is led by the Trust Fund Committee and administered by the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs.
The 2023 allocation offered grants to groups and individuals with an emphasis on diversity, equity access and inclusion that provide direct public benefits in: Arts Education, Arts and Culture Programming, and Arts and Culture Operational Support. The city said the projects supported range from theater and live music to visual arts exhibitions and arts education classes.
“We are exceptionally proud to announce our 2023 JCACTF grantees. This year’s grantees spotlight the diversity that makes Jersey City the uniquely special place that it is,” said Elizabeth Phillips-Lorenzo, co-chair of the Arts & Culture Trust Fund Committee, in a prepared statement. “We love seeing the continued growth and expansion of our impactful arts programming all across the City, and this second round of grants is key to that.”
The full list of 2023 grant awardees is available here.
