(NEWARK, NJ) -- Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District (LPCCD) has launched "Lincoln Park Music Speaks” Micro-Grants for the Newark Music Community supported by the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund (NJACRF). The NJACRF was established last year and is hosted by the Princeton Area Community Foundation to ensure the strength and survival of the nonprofit arts, cultural and historical sector statewide. LPCCD is re-granting a portion of the award through its “Music Speaks” initiative to music artists and curators that reside and create in the City of Newark, NJ. There will be 10 micro-grants awarded in the amount of $1,500 per grantee towards their artistic endeavors.
To be eligible, the applicant must be a performing/recording artist or curator of music events that provide opportunities for artists to perform; must reside in Newark, NJ; must specialize in the genres of gospel, jazz, hip hop (rap & its many forms), afro-Caribbean, spoken word, R&B, house/dance music, jazzy soul (neo-soul), soul, funk, any alternative hybrid or mash up of the aforementioned genres; and must have a specific artistic project towards which the funds will be used.
The application and full information is available here. The deadline to apply is Friday, June 11, 2021 at 11:59pm. Awards will be announced in June 2021. Grant funds will be administered by Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. A midterm report is required and a final report must also be completed at the end of the grant cycle. Click here for grant guidelines.
“Lincoln Park “Music Speaks” is the free, interactive lecture, music and multimedia arts series designed to increase Newark citizens’ appreciation for literature, art, photography, music, and dance. Through “Music Speaks” LPCCD seeks to educate, inform and empower the community as well as celebrate it. During the City of Newark's 350th anniversary celebration in 2016, its “Music Speaks” program reached 2,000 attendees across 15 citywide events, garnered over 100,000 social impressions and the public art component was covered in the New York Times.
“The symbiotic histories of our community and music cannot be undone” states Anthony Smith, Executive Director. “Through our annual Lincoln Park Music Festival & many other initiatives, LPCCD has showcased nearly 1,000 musicians and recording artists over the past 14 years. To leverage our humanities initiative ‘Lincoln Park Music Speaks’ in this way is a continuum of LPCCD’s efforts to power the Newark music ecosystem and creative economy.”
The review panel includes Fayemi Shakur, Director, Arts and Cultural Affairs, City of Newark, NJ; Shani Saxon, VP of Development and Production at I am OTHER, the strategic consulting and creative collective assembled and led by Pharrell Williams; and Wayne Winborne, Executive Director, Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. The renowned music and arts professionals will serve as jurors and assist with the review process. The panel will review applications and score artistic quality, community impact, a well thought out pathway to project completion and capacity to execute the artistic vision.
The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, Inc. (LPCCD) is a non-profit organization actively engaged in the practice of economic development through Creative Placemaking. Its mission to plan, design and develop a comprehensive arts and cultural district in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of downtown Newark. LPCCD’s main arts & culture programs are the annual Lincoln Park Music Festival, Lincoln Park Music Speaks citywide humanities initiative, the Lincoln Park Jazzy Soul music series and the Lincoln Park Sustainable Living Community Podcast.
