The Creating Change Network, a program hosted by New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey that aims to build a more equitable, just, and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey, will faciliate participation by the state’s arts community in the National Day of Racial Healing, on January 18, 2022.

The Creating Change Network, in partnership with the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center at Rutgers University - Newark, seeks submissions from arts organizations, schools, universities, and individual artists for inclusion in the National Day of Racial Healing events calendar. Submitted events should be connected to the theme of “Healing in Action” related to race and racism. Participants may be eligible for up to $350 in project support from the Creating Change Network. Priority for funding will be given to events that focus on equity and healing within their communities. Submissions are due by November 30, 2021.

The organizers encourage submission of events that are already planned for the time period of January 18-25, 2022. Events may be virtual or in-person. Re-broadcasts of previously recorded virtual events are also welcome.

Eligible events include performances, exhibits, community conversations, panel discussions, or facilitated Racial Healing Circles. The National Day of Racial Healing takes place on January 18, 2022, but events that take place between January 18 and January 25, 2022, or close to those dates are eligible to be included. 

“The National Day of Racial Healing is a critical platform enabling individuals and organizations across the country to participate in the recognition that awareness and action are imperative to healing our nation's racial crisis. This opportunity for our arts community to participate, supports our goal of creating change and moving this conversation forward to transform our workplace and how we engage with each other,” says Donna Walker-Kuhne, Senior Advisor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Chair of the Creating Change Steering Committee.

“It has been a pleasure to partner with the Creating Change Network,” says Sharon Stroye, Director of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Center and Director of Public Engagement in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University - Newark. “The mission of the TRHT Center at Rutgers University -Newark is to draw on the methodologies and strategies of the humanities and the arts within a social justice framework, where RU-N and diverse community partners can engage in an arc of interactive programming designed to change the narrative about race and race relations in Newark and beyond.”

“The theme for National Day of Racial Healing 2022 is Healing in Action,” Stroye continues. “It’s an opportunity for people, organizations, and communities to interpret what healing in action represents to them and to take action together in creating a just and equitable New Jersey. The Creating Change Network is a strategic and collaborative partner in promoting racial healing and relationship building throughout the New Jersey arts community.”

Launched in Spring 2021 with the Creating Change Virtual Symposium, attended by more than 550 arts leaders, the Creating Change Network offers ongoing roundtables and workshops, in-person accountability check-ins, and other collaborative efforts. The programs of the Creating Change Network are guided by a steering committee, chaired by Donna Walker-Kuhne (Senior Advisor, Community Engagement at NJPAC),  and representing arts administrators, artists, and leaders of social justice organizations. 

The activities of the Creating Change Network are supported by the Grunin Foundation.

Individuals and/or organizations may submit their events by November 30, 2021 at: https://go.rutgers.edu/ccndorh22 

Founded in 1981, New Jersey Theatre Alliance was the first statewide service organization for professional, not-for-profit theatre companies in the United States, and is a leader in developing model programs that unite, promote, strengthen, and cultivate professional theatre in New Jersey. Funding for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a not-for-profit organization, is provided in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State Division of Travel and Tourism, and contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations including Amazon, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Grunin Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Bank of America, The Shubert Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Investors Bank, The Hyde and Watson Foundation,  The F.M. Kirby Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, and The Union Foundation.

The ArtPride New Jersey Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that promotes the value of the arts to New Jersey’s quality of life, education, and economic vitality through research and a variety of programs and services.