(UNION COUNTY, NJ) -- The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders has announced that 34 Union County arts organizations will receive a total of $64,000 in grants from the Union County Local Arts Grant Program for the funding year 2017.
“This new round of funding demonstrates that our local arts community has earned a reputation for delivering programs that make significant contributions to the quality of life in Union County, and throughout New Jersey,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “On behalf of the Freeholder Board, I wish our awardees all the best for a successful and productive season.”
The 34 grants are made possible through funding provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner organization of the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant program is administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.
“A little goes a long way, and this new round of funding will reach thousands of Union County residents with programs and activities that enrich and educate,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, who is the Freeholder Liaison to the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has designated the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs as one of the “anchor institutions that make significant contributions to the quality of life in New Jersey, and has recognized its “solid history of service excellence, substantial activity and broad public service.”
The $64,000 in grants represents part of a larger $144,000 Council on the Arts award for Union County. The balance of the grant will be matched by the Freeholder Board, enabling the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs to present the Teen Arts Program, the Senior Citizen Art Exhibit, Music in the Mills and gallery exhibits as well as technical assistance workshops and other services for Union County artists, cultural organizations and residents.
The 2017 Local Arts Grantees are: Afternoon Music, Inc., American Theater Group, Bridgeway, CDC Community Theatre, Celebration Singers, Chinese American Music Ensemble, Choral Art Society of New Jersey, Inc., City of Plainfield Senior Citizens Center, Community Access Unlimited, Community Educational & Cultural Association, Inc., Community Players of Westfield, Concord Singers, Connection for Women and Families, Continuo Arts Foundation, Elizabeth Public Library, First United Methodist Church, Friends of Springfield Library, Gateway Family - YMCA of Eastern Union County, Ivy Visions Charitable Arm/Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Jewish Community Center of Central NJ, Kenilworth Public Library, King’s Daughter’s Day School, Life Drawing Studio Group, Linden Public Library, New Jersey Workshop for the Arts, Plainfield Public Library, Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, Rahway Valley Jerseyaires, Summit Chorale, Summit Public Library, Summit Symphony Orchestra, The August Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Greater Union County, and YWCA of Eastern Union County.
For more information about Union County arts grant programs or to learn about other programs, services and volunteer opportunities through the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, call 908-558-2550 (NJ Relay users dial 711), email culturalinfo@ucnj.org or visit during regular business hours at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth.
