2026 Call for Artists - Community-Based Art Grant Program

2026 Call for Artists - Community-Based Art Grant Program is sponsored by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Arts Council). This program partners community-based organizations with artists to address the theme of climate resilience and coastal flooding through original, site-specific artwork and community engagement and events.

## Community-Based Art Grant Program The Community-Based Art grant program will address the need to involve and inform the public about the coastal hazards impacts they will face and what actions they can take to reduce their risk.

To accomplish this, community-based organization around the coastal zone were selected through a Notice of Funding Availability released in the fall of 2020 and have been partnered with artists selected through a Call for Artists. The community-based organizations and artists will work together to address the theme of climate resilience and coastal flooding through original, site-specific artwork and community engagement and events.

This program partners the New Jersey Coastal Management Program (CMP) with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Arts Council) and is make possible in part with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)’s Enhancement Program. ### The following are organizations and artists who were selected for past and current Community-Based Art Grant Programs.

#### Atlantic City Arts Foundation Partnering Artist: Nancy Agati andRebecca Shultz Description of Artwork: _Water Table_ will engage and educate the public about the relationship between water absorption/runoff and coastal resiliency.

As the New Jersey coast faces accelerating sea-level rise and the related risk of flooding due to storm surges, establishing coastal buffer zones and using permeable materials to absorb runoff are increasingly necessary mitigation strategies.

Water Table will serve as a visual demonstration for the water absorption rates of diverse materials, making visible their ecological benefits: filtering pollutants, beautifying the landscape, and providing ample drainage to prevent flooding.

Location: Absecon Lighthouse Park 31 S Rhode Island Ave, Atlantic City, NJ Community Event Dates: (Tentative) August 7 and August 14 Project Installation Event: (Tentative) August 20th This installation will remain in place through fall of 2021 For more information please contact staff@atlanticcityartsfoundation.

org #### Bayshore Center at Bivalve Partnering Artist: Gail Scuderi and Kathy Casper Description of Artwork: A series of onsite community workshops will result in a variety of handmade mosaic tiles that will be used to adorn a grouping of tiny ceramic houses that will be displayed around the site.

Tiles created by the community will illustrate, in words, images and symbols, ways that people, animals and plants need to adapt to thrive in a changing environment. Experiential learning enables participants to retain information, process and reflect upon the experience in a way that traditional museum displays or shows cannot.

Location: Bayshore Center at Bivalve 2800 High Street Port Norris, NJ Community Event Dates: July 3 2021 and July 10 2021 Project Installation Event: October 2, 2021 3pm Partnering Artist: Lynn Needle, Art of Motion Inc Description of Artwork: _The Poseidon Project_ will draw the public’s attention to the urgency of coastal fragility.

Through choreographed sections, each connecting to aquatic myth, legend, and nature, and will feature lead Violinist from Monmouth Symphony and local multigenerational Surfer Dance Chorus, as well as a guest appearance from the Roxey Ballet of Lambertville, NJ. Costume design and construction by Annie Hickman and Lynn Needle featuring upcycled fabrics/materials.

Location: Great Lawn Pavilion 10 Ocean Ave, Long Branch NJ Community Event Dates: July 15, 2021 Project Installation Event: August 10, 2021 Partnering Artist: Adriane Colburn Description of Artwork: _Units of Measure_ is a wooden post sculpture that is displayed along the coastline of Dundee Island Park.

This wood posts lays horizontally and visualizes the heights of the average water height along with the average temperatures from the years. Each of the different sections of the post represent a year that tells the different scenarios of sea-level rise and precipitation events in the parks history.

Location: Dundee Island Park, Passaic NJ Community Event Dates: September 13, 2022 Project Installation Event: September 13, 2022 #### Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New Jersey Coastal Management Program, Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with the NJ State Council on the Arts.