(Trenton, NJ)  At its 44th Annual Meeting today at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts voted to award grants totaling $15,560,823 in state and federal funding. The awards announced today will support nearly 800 arts organizations, programs, projects and artists in every county across the state. The Council receives funding in direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"It is clear that this Administration understands that the arts are a powerful tool in addressing issues of high civic priority to keep our state on track toward recovery," stated Council Chair Sharon Burton Turner. She went on to emphasize how the state's arts industry helps bolster tourism and local economies, ensures excellence in education, contributes to health and wellness, and sustains and creates opportunities for businesses and jobs.

In addressing the audience of approximately 300 arts administrators, board members, artists and volunteers, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, who also serves as New Jersey’s Secretary of State, commented, “New Jersey has long been regarded nationally for the strong artists and creative talent borne here. I am proud that even in these tough economic times, the Christie Administration and our federal partners, are able to provide over $16 million in aid to New Jersey’s artist community in support of their craft. I look forward to continuing to work with the arts community to shine a light on New Jersey’s incredibly talented and creative artists. In the coming months, I am looking forward to visiting many of the awardees so that I can see their tremendous work.”

The Council's awards were divided into several grant programs including $13,527,545 in 192 matching grants to organizations and $2,003,526 in 25 cosponsored initiatives that support state and regional partnerships which advance arts education, showcase New Jersey artists, increase access to the arts for people with disabilities, foster arts in community development and healthcare, and promote the arts statewide. Twenty-one of the matching grants, totaling $1,798,794, are awarded to County Arts Agencies for local arts development, which helps to support an additional 550 local arts organizations and projects statewide. The Council also approved $29,752 in funding for 10 Folk Arts Apprenticeships which help sustain the traditional arts of New Jersey's many different cultural communities, and recommended up to $400,000 for as many as 14 stabilization project grants to the Cultural Trust board, pending availability of grant funds from the Trust's interest earnings.

In addition, 27 organizations and projects that received the highest evaluations from the peer panel reviewing the applications were recognized with Citations of Excellence. Forty-four groups were designated or confirmed as Major Arts, Presenting or Service Organizations in recognition of their history of excellence, the breadth of their impact, and their longstanding leadership.

In presenting the funding recommendations to the full Council for vote this morning, Grants Committee Chair Ofelia Garcia described the Council's grants process noting that it is nationally recognized as rigorous, fair, transparent and free of conflict of interest. When commenting on the results of the meeting she said, "The Council is committed to upholding the very highest standards of excellence in all we do. We are confident that we have made the most responsible investment of valuable resources to serve New Jersey's diverse communities in the critical ways that only the arts can."

In other business, the Council adopted an agency administrative budget and a program and operations plan for the fiscal year, a blueprint for advancing the goals of the Council’s Strategic Plan and the state Arts Plan. It also approved a supplemental ethics code and revisions to its site visit process. Reports highlighting accomplishments of the past year and plans for Fiscal Year 2011 were provided from the Arts Education, Public Value and Planning Committees. The Council also elected officers for the year including Sharon Burton Turner of Montclair as chair, Judith Leone of Toms River as 1st vice chair, and Ofelia Garcia of Jersey City as 2nd vice chair.

Addionally, the Council welcomed new Council member Dee Kirk of Livingston, who was sworn in on July 27, and acknowledged outgoing members Sharon Harrington and Ann Koeppe who served on the Council for 14 and 5 years respectively. The Council also recognized the 10th anniversary of the official launch of Discover Jersey Arts, a cosponsored project of the Council and the ArtPride NJ Foundation with the mission to increase awareness of and participation in the arts. This award–winning project has grown considerably since its inception and now boasts a comprehensive list of services including its interactive website – www.jerseyarts.com – widely regarded as the place to go for one-stop-shopping for everything arts and culture statewide.

For a list of grants by discipline/panel category, click here.
For a list of grants by county, click here.
For a list of those honored with Citations or designated as Majors, click here.