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New Jersey State Council on the Arts Announces $5 Million in CARES Act Funds for Arts Organizations

originally published: 12/07/2020


(TRENTON, NJ) -- The New Jersey State Council on the Arts will distribute $5 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to help arts organizations throughout the state recoup some of the significant losses they’ve experienced due to the current pandemic. The announcement was made at the Arts Council's public meeting held virtually on December 7th. The $5 million in federal aid was directed to the State Arts Council by the Murphy Administration specifically to support the state’s hard-hit arts sector.

"New Jersey’s arts community is world renowned, attracting extraordinary talent and making a significant economic contribution to cities and towns throughout the state," said Governor Murphy. “These funds will support organizations statewide, allowing them to recover from their losses and keep New Jersey arts alive."

“Arts organizations and artists throughout our state quickly sprang into action earlier this year, making and donating masks and other crucial protective equipment, all while continuing to create and share their art in new ways,” said Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “I am proud to work closely with the Governor and the Council to provide additional support for our state’s arts sector.”

"The Council is incredibly grateful to Governor Murphy and his Administration for recognizing the importance of New Jersey’s arts community,” said Council Chair Elizabeth Mattson. “As organizations have continued keeping safety top of mind by keeping their doors closed or limiting access, the financial need has become staggering. Sadly, the nature of what the arts do best – bring people together – means our sector will likely be one of the last to see a more complete recovery. These funds are coming at a critical moment, allowing these organizations to continue serving their communities during a time when the arts are needed more than ever.”

“As a member of the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Commission, I would like to thank Governor Murphy and his Administration for recognizing the significant need for financial support in the arts and culture sector,” said Evelyn McGee Colbert, Member of the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Commission. “While the pandemic required the arts sector to be one of the first to close, the sector’s innovative and collaborative efforts to continue to find ways to share information and support each other has been truly impressive. These grants will help many organizations at a critical moment when they are facing catastrophic losses.” 




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The Council has identified 97 nonprofit arts organizations as eligible to receive the CARES Act funds. Per federal directives, funds will be distributed broadly, meaningfully, and quickly. Knowing that this allocation cannot fully mitigate the ongoing and significant financial loss sustained by the arts sector, the Council developed a strategy that will ensure these grants have the intended impact. Awards were determined through a tiered, need-based formula that considered each eligible applicant’s reported losses over the last nine months.

As an essential part of our state’s economy and overall quality of life, New Jersey’s arts sector, when it is stable and thriving, employs thousands of people, engages millions, and provides irreplaceable value for communities, families, residents, and visitors.



Organization Name & CARES Act Grant

Algonquin Arts $40,684

American Repertory Ballet Company $47,345

Appel Farm Arts and Music Center $40,250

Art House Productions $51,043




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ArtPride New Jersey Foundation $15,733

Arts & Education Center $56,771

Arts Council of Princeton $73,750

Arts for Kids Inc. $23,000

ArtsPower $88,029

Artworks Trenton Inc. $41,090

Atlantic City Ballet $41,500

Axelrod Performing Arts Center $65,000

Barat Foundation $40,000

Bay Atlantic Symphony $50,500




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Bergen Performing Arts Center Inc $52,273

Boheme Opera Company $40,863

Cape May Stage $83,814

Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company $40,179

CavanKerry Press Ltd $8,000

Center for Modern Dance Education $5,482

coLAB Arts $4,702

Count Basie Theatre, Inc. $128,632

Crossroads Theatre Company $63,000

Dance New Jersey $1,145

East Lynne Company, Inc. $48,326

Freespace Dance $43,750

Frontline Arts $47,065

George Street Playhouse $71,233

GlassRoots, Inc. $42,010

Grounds for Sculpture, Inc. $39,493

Growing Stage Theatre for Young Audiences Inc. $53,235

Hunterdon Art Museum $38,337

Institute of Music for Children $59,500

International Sculpture Center, Inc. $50,624




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J.C.C. Metrowest $42,858

Jazz House Kids, Inc. $44,799

JCC on the Palisades-Thurnauer School of Music $42,281

Levoy Theatre Preservation Society, Inc. $39,900

Long Beach Island Fnd. of the Arts and Sciences $19,384

Luna Stage Company, Inc. $31,019

Mainstage Center for the Arts $90,595

Matheny Medical and Educational Center $47,414

Mayo Performing Arts Center $135,007

McCarter Theatre Center/Performing Arts $147,967

Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities $36,765

Monmouth County Arts Council $6,351

Monmouth Museum & Cultural Center $55,200

Montclair Art Museum $68,935

Montclair Film Festival $40,548

Morris Museum $41,821

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company $43,588

New Jersey Ballet Company $79,641

New Jersey Festival Orchestra $66,000

New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra $15,600

New Jersey Performing Arts Center $193,369

New Jersey Repertory Company $35,350

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra $49,530

New Jersey Theatre Alliance $12,000

Newark Arts Council, Inc. $50,000

Newark Public Radio, Inc. WBGO-FM $60,000

Newark School of the Arts, Inc. $62,500

Nimbus Dance Works $44,416

Ocean City Arts Center $42,000

Paper Mill Playhouse $137,787

Passage Theatre Company $17,326

People and Stories Gente y Cuentos $22,012

Perkins Center for the Arts $36,071

Peters Valley Craft Center Inc. $67,525

Princeton Symphony Orchestra $78,796

Pushcart Players $48,255

Ritz Theatre Company, Inc. $71,325

Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts $15,010

Riverside Symphonia $47,680

Roxey Ballet Company $65,209

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey $54,798

Sharron Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts $71,050

South Orange Performing Arts Center $43,636

State Theatre $112,259

Strand Ventures, Inc. $62,130

Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council $24,269

Symphony in C $54,632

The Children's Home Society of New Jersey $50,000

The Discovery Orchestra, Inc. $10,036

The Garden State Film Festival $50,407

The Kennedy Dancers, Inc. $7,640

The Newark Museum Association $82,123

The Princeton Festival A NJ Nonprofit Corporation $59,745

The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts $69,107

Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium $13,505

Trenton Civil Circus Project $44,574

Trilogy: An Opera Company $47,250

Visual Arts Center of New Jersey $70,140

West Windsor Arts Council $62,909

Westrick Music Academy $43,500

Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center $66,173

Young Audiences of New Jersey $32,379

Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey $19,546

As an essential part of our state’s economy and overall quality of life, New Jersey’s arts sector, when it is stable and thriving, employs thousands of people, engages millions, and provides irreplaceable value for communities, families, residents, and visitors.



The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council receives direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated, renewable Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee, as well as competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.  



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