Creative Communities (Arts and Health initiatives)

Creative Communities (Arts and Health initiatives) is sponsored by New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts believes that access to the arts is vital to the overall health and well-being of New Jerseyans.

New Jersey Department of State - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Dr. Dale G. Caldwell, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State Join Us for Our Next Public Meeting - 10/21 Introducing the Artist Fellowship Catalog Opportunities for the Field Priscila de Carvalho’s “Where We Belong” mural at PATH Exchange Place Station, Jersey City.

Photo: Priscila de Carvalho Access State Council Funds through the Local Arts Program Roxey Ballet’s “Viva Cultura! ” Cinco De Mayo celebration. Photo: Sabrina Liddel ArtsPay 2025 Results are Here!

ArtsPay NJ is a long-term project to build pay equity in the arts in our state. Photo courtesy of State of the Arts On the Next State of the Arts State of the Arts has been taking you on location with the most creative people in New Jersey and beyond since 1981. The New York and Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award-winning series features documentary shorts about an extraordinary range of artists and visits New Jersey’s best performance spaces.

State of the Arts is on the frontlines of the creative and cultural worlds of New Jersey. State of the Arts is a cornerstone program of NJ PBS , with episodes co-produced by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Stockton University, in cooperation with PCK Media. The series also airs on WNET and ALL ARTS .

On this week's episode ... making community through the arts. In the quaint river town of Lambertville, the Birdhouse Center for the Arts is a creative hub for all ages.

In Elizabeth, young people make music, food, and art of all kinds at the Institute of Music for Children, creating pathways for their futures. And Indigenous artists from the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation in South Jersey explore themes of land, sustainability, and identity. Spark: The Universe in Us From the oxygen we breathe to the uranium that warms our planet’s core, we owe everything to the stars!

Narrated by Diego Luna, “Spark: The Universe in Us” explores how hundreds of millions of celestial events have forged the elements that make up the Solar System, Earth, and us. Join us as we travel deep inside a giant star that is about to implode, experience the quiet demise of a star like the Sun, and witness the collision of compact stellar cores.

Journey across space and time as we explore the movement of elements through our galaxy to understand how stars seed the Universe with the building blocks of life. New Jersey State Council on the Arts Celebrates Six Decades of Service to the Garden State During the Arts Council's annual public meeting, the Arts Council marked six decades of service to artists, arts organizations, and communities across the state.

The Council also announced roughly $30 million in grants and debuted three videos – part of a series to recognize impactful art organizations in the state. Read the full press release . Deborah Mitchell, New Jersey Heritage Fellow.

Photo: Thomas Fanelli Cultural Trust Offers Grants for Arts Organizations For FY27, the Arts Council will accept applications for NJ Cultural Trust Institutional/Financial Stabilization Grants for Arts Organizations. Organizations may apply for grant funds up to $40,000. Qualification is required to apply.

Qualification Deadline: June 8, 2026 Application Opens: June 10, 2026 Grant Deadline: July 30, 2026 Photo Credit: Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University. Photo: Hanna Wilson. Year in Review: Fiscal Year 2026 The Art Council has published its Year in Review for Fiscal Year 2026.

This publication highlights the impact of public investment in the arts through key accomplishments, reflections, and images from organizations and artists across New Jersey. View the Year in Review: Fiscal Year 2026 . "See it Now: Contemporary Art from the Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection,” VIP Opening.

Photo credit: Alex Pavljuk, Montclair Art Museum NJ Climate Resilience Community-Based Arts Projects Accepting Proposals The NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the Arts Council are seeking proposals for four site-specific visual, performance, or time-based projects from artists who live in or near New Jersey for community focused arts engagements. Learn more and apply by July 30 .

Photo Credit: Kaira Villanueva, "A Story of Floods," mural at the Chelsea Boys & Girls Club in Atlantic City, a New Jersey Climate Resilience Community-Based Arts Project. Credit: Kaira Villanueva Applications for Individual Artist Fellowship Grants Now Open The 2027 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship rules and instructions and application are now available!

State Fellowships – ranging, in the past, from $9,000 to $32,000 – are awarded to practicing New Jersey artists through an anonymous, competitive application process to help them pursue their artistic goals. Early Bird Deadline: June 25, 2026 Submission Deadline: July 2, 2026 Credit: 2025 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellow Rebecca Lazier's Noli Timere. Photo: Julie Lemberger.

Join the Families First Discovery Pass Program Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grants Now Available Folk Arts Apprenticeship grants encourage communities to continue passing on their valued traditions in traditional settings, by providing stipends so that Master folk artists can help Apprentices develop greater skill.

Register for a Folk Arts Apprenticeship Application Workshop 07/22/26 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Celebrates Six Decades of Service to the Garden State Today, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts celebrated six decades of service to artists, arts organizations, and communities across the state at its Annual Meeting, held at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton.

05/19/26 - NJ State Council on the Arts NJ State Council on the Arts Announces New Partnership with NJ Department of Veterans Affairs through National Arts Grant During a New Jersey State Council on the Arts public meeting today, the Council announced a new partnership with the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs focused on serving older adult residents of veterans homes through high quality arts learning programs.

03/23/26 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Develops Best Practices Guide for Serving Systems- and Justice-Impacted Youth through the Arts The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is proud to announce the creation of a best practice guide for serving systems- and justice-impacted youth through high-quality arts learning programs: The Transformative Power of Art: A Guide to Arts Learning for Systems-Impacted Youth in New Jersey.

2/10/26 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grants $2 Million to New Jersey Artists through Individual Artist Fellowship Program The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2026 today, where $2 million was awarded to 198 New Jersey artists through the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program. 12/18/25 - NJ State Council on the Arts Governor Murphy, Lt.

Governor Way, State Agencies, Monument Lab Announce Nandi Jordan, Anika Grant & Idlewild Experiential as Selected Artist Team for Revolutionary Acts Public Art Project The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in partnership with Monument Lab, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and RevolutionNJ, has announced the selection of Nandi Jordan and Anika Grant as the artist team who will create a new performance series for Revolutionary Acts – a statewide public art project that will animate stories of the American Revolution in time for the 250th anniversary in 2026.

10/06/25 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey Arts and Culture Series, State of the Arts , Nominated for Four New York Emmys The 2025 New York Emmy Awards nominations were announced in July, and the acclaimed arts and culture series State of the Arts , which has covered the arts in New Jersey since 1981, received four.

07/22/25 - NJ State Council on the Arts State Arts Council Approves Over $29 Million in Grants, Welcomes New Board Member Investment Strengthens Economic and Creative Vitality of Communities in Every County 05/20/25 - NJ State Council on the Arts Lt.

Governor Way, Monument Lab, State Agencies Announce Call for Artists to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution Monument Lab, in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and RevolutionNJ, has launched an Open Call for Artist Ideas for a new performance series – Revolutionary Acts – that will animate stories of the American Revolution in time for the 250th anniversary in 2026.

02/11/25 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grants $2 Million to New Jersey Artists The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2025 today, where $2 million was awarded to 216 New Jersey artists through the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program - the highest number of artists awarded in one year in the program's history.

11/26/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts State of the Arts Wins 35th Emmy Award For Story On Artist Layqa Nuna Yawar's Mural At Newark Liberty International Airport's New Terminal A State of the Arts, one of the longest-running arts programs in the nation, has won its 35th Emmy Award for the segment "Layqa", which follows Newark-based Indigenous Ecuadorian artist Layqa Nuna Yawar as he creates a colossal mural for Newark Liberty International Airport's newly redesigned Terminal A.

10/11/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts Emmy Award-winning State of the Arts Premieres Two-part Special Focusing on New Jersey Heritage Fellows One of the most diverse states in the country, New Jersey is home to an amazing array of traditional artists, each a keeper of an age-old art form.

07/30/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Over $30 Million in Grants, Names New Chair Investment Strengthens Economic and Creative Vitality of Communities in Every County 05/15/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts to Receive Nearly $1.

2 Million from the National Endowment for the Arts The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has been approved for a grant of $1,195,200 from the National Endowment for the Arts. 02/20/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS NEARLY $2 MILLION TO NEW JERSEY ARTISTS The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2024 today, where just over $1.

7 million was awarded to 161 New Jersey artists through the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program.

02/16/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts Unlock the Potential: Faith in Action in Sustainable Development Symposium The New Jersey Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, in collaboration with the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority and Kean University, is pleased to announce the "Unlock the Potential: Faith in Action in Sustainable Development Symposium."

02/15/24 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts Artists and Community Organizations Work Together to Communicate Climate Risks in New Jersey Four New Jersey community-based organizations (CBOs) recently received funding to work with regional artists to develop community-engaged art projects that communicate climate risks to the public.

12/19/23 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Creative Aging Grants, Announces Update to Longstanding Arts Education Program The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting today, during which 30 New Jersey organizations received grants through the Council’s Creative Aging Initiative grant program.

10/05/23 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Opens Funding Applications for Its Largest Grant Programs The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has released the guidelines for its biggest grant program, opening the application process to arts organizations across the state for the first time in five years.

07/25/23 - New Jersey State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Over $30 Million in Grants, Announces Recipients of Inaugural New Jersey Heritage Fellowships The New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded more than $30 million in grants to support approximately 900 arts organizations, projects, and artists throughout the state.

05/31/23 - The New Jersey State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL TO RECEIVE NEARLY $1. 2 MILLION FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has been approved for a grant of $1,190,200 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

02/28/23 - The New Jersey State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS NEARLY $2 MILLION TO NEW JERSEY ARTISTS & ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR ARTS COMPENSATION DATA SURVEY The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2023 today, where nearly $2 million was awarded to 140 New Jersey artists through the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program.

12/13/22 - NJ State Council on the Arts State Arts Council Announces Grants To New Jersey Organizations Through New Creative Aging Grant Program And Welcomes New Council Member The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting today, during which 22 New Jersey organizations received grants through the Council’s new Creative Aging Initiative grant program.

Senior centers, libraries, and arts organizations will provide customized arts experiences for people aged 55 and older, helping to enhance overall wellness, build community, and diminish issues of isolation. 05/17/22 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Over $3. 6 Million in Grants for New Capital Arts Program The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting today, where over $3.

6 million was awarded to 38 organizations through the new Capital Arts grant program. 02/22/22 - NJ State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS NEARLY $1 MILLION TO NEW JERSEY ARTISTS & WELCOMES NEW COUNCIL MEMBER The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2022 today, where nearly $1 million was awarded to 85 New Jersey artists through the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program.

08/12/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts NEW JERSEY TELEVISION PROGRAM, STATE OF THE ARTS, RECEIVES TWO 2021 MID-ATLANTIC EMMY NOMINATIONS The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is pleased to announce that long-running television program State of the Arts has been nominated for two 2021 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. 07/27/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Over $35.

6 Million in Grants, Establishes Capital Arts Program Investment Supports Jobs, Arts Nonprofits, and Services in Every County 06/22/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts Coastal communities throughout New Jersey are embarking on a series of art installations to raise awareness about coastal hazard impacts.

05/18/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL SWEARS IN NEWEST COUNCIL MEMBER, CHRIS FOGLIO, FOUNDER AND CEO OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, INC. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has sworn in Chris Foglio as the newest member of the Council Board. Ms. Foglio took her oath – administered by Council Ex-Officio Member Senator Tom Kean - during the Council’s public meeting on Tuesday, May 18th.

03/16/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS OVER $3 MILLION TO NEW JERSEY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR COVID RECOVERY AND RELIEF The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting today, where nearly $750,000 was awarded to 50 New Jersey nonprofit organizations through a recovery program that will help the arts sector prepare for a full-scale recovery.

02/16/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL PROGRAM OFFICER PORCHÉ HARDY SELECTED TO SERVE ON NATIONAL ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP ADVISORY COUNCIL Porché Hardy – Program Officer with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts - has been named as the newest member of the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) Advisory Council.

02/02/21 - NJ State Council on the Arts STATE ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS NEARLY $1 MILLION TO NEW JERSEY ARTISTS & WELCOMES NEW COUNCIL MEMBER The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2021 today, where nearly $1 million was awarded to 129 New Jersey artists through two grant programs. Opportunities For The Field Our monthly newsletter with opportunities for artists, arts workers, and organizations.

Browse professional development workshops, grant announcements, calls for artists, and more. Resources For Council Grantees Welcome Guide for Current Grantees Required Logo and Ad Files Access State Council Funds through the Local Arts Program Find your County Arts Agency contact. Find calls.

Apply. Manage entries. Registration is free!

See the impact of the arts in your county, including job numbers, economic impact, and more. DJA is a multifaceted program dedicated to increasing the awareness of and participation in the arts in NJ. Coordinated through the Jersey Arts Marketers network, this program provides resources for both arts organizations and patrons alike.

Public Meeting - Artist Fellowships Announcement Tuesday, February 11, 2020 | 11:00 AM The NJ State Council on the Arts will convene a brief public meeting on Tuesday, February 11th at the Morris Museum in Morristown. The meeting will include Council committee reports, presentations by the meeting hosts, and announcement of the 2020 Individual Artist Fellowship recipients. The event is free and open to the public.

The Council will provide CART (real time captioning) services at each of its public business meetings. If you require additional accessibility services, please contact the Council's Accessibility Coordinator, Mary Eileen Fouratt two weeks prior to the event at 609-984-6815 (NJ Relay711) or MaryEileen. Fouratt@sos.

nj. gov . No Meeting is Scheduled at this time The New Jersey State Council on the Arts meets a minimum of five times annually in open public session at which it acts on matters of policy, funding, and program development.

The Council's Annual Meeting, at which it elects officers, adopts a program plan and budget, and approves the majority of grant awards, is traditionally held in late July.

FY26 Council Public Meeting Dates: October 21, 2025 | October 2025 Agenda December 16, 2025 | December 2025 Agenda February 10, 2026 | February 2026 Agenda May 19, 2026 | May 2026 Agenda July 22, 2026 | July 2026 Agenda Accessibility : The Council will provide CART (real time captioning) for the July meeting. Automated captioning will be made available in the Zoom virtual platform for all other meetings.

If you require additional accessibility services, please contact Access Coordinator Lindsay Dandeo at least two weeks prior to the event date: lindsay. dandeo@sos. nj.

gov | 609-984-7020 ( NJ Relay 711 ). Grant Application Workshops Tweets by Secretary of State Tahesha Way New Jersey State Archives Secretary of State Tahesha Way