Jersey City has announced the first round of grants from the Arts & Culture Trust Fund, with nearly $900,000 in total going to 89 artists and art organizations throughout the city.
The trust fund is distributing its first grants to support the city’s arts community after being established from a voter-approved referendum in 2020. The city had accepted applications for various grants earlier this year.
“Jersey City’s investment in the arts is an investment in our entire community,” said Mayor Steven Fulop in a statement. “The short- and long-term social, educational, and economic impacts generate a wide range of opportunities for our residents and businesses.”
Among the awarded grants are 38 program grant awards, eight arts education grant awards, 23 operating grant awards and 20 individual artist fellowship grant awards.
“To be able to announce these grants to help Jersey City’s arts programming and creative artists, ranging from novice to expert, is truly a milestone that brings us closer to seeing the City’s vision as a regional arts and culture hub become a reality,” said Cultural Affairs Director Christine Goodman.
The tax levy for the trust fund is expected to generate about $1,023,000 this year, based on a rate of $0.0025 per $100 of property value and the current year valuation of all property that is at $40.9 billion.
For the Program Grant Awards, a total of $330,538 was awarded. Con Vivo Music, Kyle Marshall Choreography and Once She Dries will receive $17,500 each; Nocturnal Medicine will receive $15,300 and Half-Light Productions will receive $15,255.
The Embankment Preservation Coalition, Horseshoe Empire, Pop-Up Art Fair, The Statuary and YeerSpace will each receive $13,125. MeenMooves will receive $12,675, Hudson West Fest will receive $11,658 and Lux Performing Arts will receive $11,115.
Cantandes in Cordibus, Chilltown Collective, Juneteenth NJ and Kayvond Zand will receive $8,750 each. Erica Klein/Business Comic Books will receive $8,735, Ibn Shakoor/Beyond the Surface will receive $8,500, the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy will receive $7,294, TechnoChic will receive $6,874 and the Jersey City Writers will receive $6,201.
Green Pear Heights and the Italian Educational and Culture Center will each receive $5,000. Beyond Story Time will receive $4,81. Gardens of J.C., Groove on Grove and the Medusa Project will receive $4,375 each. Piel Canela Dance will receive $4,363, and A Jam Called Tribe will receive $4,361.
Goatchella and the Washington Park Association will each receive $3,000. Philippine American Friendship Community, Inc. will receive $2,188, Chelsey Brunson/Speak will receive $1,700, Alex Grubard will receive $1,250, and the Friends of Van Vorst Park will receive $500.
For the Arts Education Grant Awards, a total of $57,731 was awarded. The Educational Arts Team received $11,750, JC Print Room received $11,250; Albercht & Bruno Video Project and Emily Funicello each received $8,750.
Luna De Papel received $6,156, Bianca Soto Dance Music and Arts received $4,375, the Jersey City Art School received $4,250 and Bergen Hill Park received $2,450.
For the Operating Grant Awards, a total of $374,396 was awarded. Ariel Rivka Dance, Art House Productions, Jersey City Theater Center, Nimbus, Riverview Jazz, Shakespeare@ and Speranza Theatre Company each received $25,000.
The Kennedy Dancers Inc. received $20,000. Art Fair 14C, Deep Space Gallery, Deliverance Children’s Ministry, Smush Gallery, Surati for Performing Arts and Victory Hall Inc. each received $18,750.
ESKFF and the Golden Door International Film Festival each received $12,500. The Arts at St. Paul & Incarnation received $9,646, Pro Arts received $9,000, Farms in the Heights received $7,500, Sip Studios received $6,250 and North River Sing received $4,500. Agemovement and No Peeking each received $2,500.
The Individual Artist Fellowship Grant Awards awarded $5,000 each. The awardees are Alon Nechushtan, Bryant Small, Cheryl Gross, David Kikoski, David Solan, Deborah Jack, Douglas Beavers, Eileen Ferara, Gianluca Bianchino, Jin Jung, Katarzyna Skorynkiewicz, Kishawn Jack, Lorenzo Pickett, Michele Byrd-McPhee, Natalia Basava, Richard la Rovere, Roosevelt China, Shamona Stokes, Theda Sandiford and Zachary Davis.
“The Jersey City Arts Council congratulates all awardees as well as the tireless Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee, and looks forward to the continued growth of this exceptional granting program,” said Heather Warfel Sandler, the co-founder of the JCAC.
The grant period is during the 2022 fiscal year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
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