(NEWARK, NJ) -- More than 800 guests filled NJPAC’s Prudential Hall on Saturday, October 1, as the Arts Center hosted its first in-person Women@NJPAC Spotlight Gala in three years. The annual fundraiser drew arts lovers, Newark advocates and NJPAC supporters together to celebrate the Arts Center’s 25th anniversary season and to raise $2.2 million for NJPAC’s extensive arts education and community engagement programs.
The event, titled The Possible Dream, featured beloved New Jersey stars including the “Godfather of Funk” George Clinton (performing with GRAMMY-winner and NJPAC Jazz Advisor Christian McBride), legendary chart-topper Dionne Warwick, GRAMMY and Academy Award-winner Regina Belle, Broadway’s Tony-winning star Laura Benanti, and tap phenom Savion Glover (the Arts Center’s Dance Advisor), and rising artists with Garden State roots including Wé McDonald of NBC’s hit show The Voice, and acclaimed keyboardist Matthew Whitaker (a graduate of NJPAC’s Arts Education programs). All performed under the direction of Ray Chew, of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
The stars of tomorrow also took center stage, as the headliners were joined in concert by students and alumni of NJPAC’s Arts Education programs. Several of the featured alumni subsequently studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Lili M. on piano, Ricky Persaud Jr. on guitar, Liany Mateo on bass, Jalin Shiver on saxophone, Alan Hsiao on trombone, Henry Spencer on drums and vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan jammed alongside the stars, and stepped into the spotlight by themselves to deliver a jazz-infused take on “My Funny Valentine.” More young musicians were highlighted as the STAX Music Academy Rhythm Section and Alumni Band of Memphis, Tennessee performed during the Gala’s cocktail hour and after-party.
"Godfather of Funk" George Clinton danced into the audience at the conclusion of the Women@NJPAC Spotlight Gala concert.
“Twenty-five years, 11 million visitors, and two million students into this unlikely enterprise, we are excited about what’s next,” said NJPAC’s President and CEO John Schreiber, near the conclusion of the performance.
The event also honored humanitarian Ray Chambers, NJPAC’s Founding Board Chairman, and his family, for their decades of support for the Arts Center. The Chambers family was presented with the Arts Center’s Founders Award, and lauded by dignitaries including former Governor Tom Kean and Prudential Financial Chairman and CEO Charles Lowrey. A video highlighting the family’s humanitarian work was presented, narrated by U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
“Ray and his family are those rare individuals who see the future as it could be, and work like heck to make it happen,” said Kean.
Other tributes were offered in person by those who benefited from scholarship programs the Chambers family supported, or who were personally mentored by Ray Chambers, including the incoming CEO of the KIPP Foundation, Shavar Jeffries, the President of The Prudential Foundation, Shané Harris, and Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners, Vaughn Crowe.
“With Ray, the impossible becomes possible — and the audacious becomes inevitable,” Harris said.
The evening also offered a glimpse at the Arts Center’s plans for the future, which include the construction of the Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center across the street from NJPAC’s theaters; the redevelopment of NJPAC’s campus into a neighborhood of apartments, stores, restaurants and cultural venues; the redesign of Chambers Plaza in NJPAC’s front yard, to create more public park space and allow for outdoor public events year-round; the establishment of partnerships with community organizations throughout all Five Wards of Newark; the launch of a new initiative focused on arts and well-being programs that promote community health; and the establishment of the Lionsgate Newark film and television production studio in the city’s South Ward.
“As New Jersey’s anchor cultural institution, all that we do at NJPAC is in service to our community. We’re here to help make our city and state a better, healthier, culturally richer place, however we can,” said Schreiber.
Women@NJPAC is celebrating 25 years and more than $55 million raised to support NJPAC and programs that enrich the lives of our current and future generations of cultural citizens. When Women@NJPAC was established in 1994, its organizers could be counted on two hands. Since that time, the organization has grown — to some 2,000 members strong today — to help NJPAC achieve its dreams. Many of the most influential and powerful women in the state lend their time, talent and treasure to the organization to support arts education for our young, champion Newark’s remarkable evolution, and advance NJPAC as a home for world-class artistry.
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located at One Center Street in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey — where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. As New Jersey’s Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State’s and the world’s best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted 11 million visitors (including almost two million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.
TOP PHOTO: The Women@NJPAC Spotlight Gala on October 1 celebrated the Arts Center's 25 years of world-class performances, arts education initiatives and community engagement with a party for 800 and a concert featuring New Jersey's best-loved stars. Photos courtesy of NJPAC
