To stay informed about future grant opportunities, be sure to sign up for the Council’s newsletter. If you have questions about these programs, please contact Council staff.

The Council's Arts Education Program is an expression of its strong, ongoing commitment to the goal of quality, lifelong arts education for all New Jerseyans and its belief that arts education is fundamental to a sound and complete education for all students.

To achieve this goal, the Council works with a broad array of partners and collaborators - including the NJ Department of Education - and seeks in all that it undertakes to help schools meet the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts as well to bolster curriculum in the literary arts. The Council seeks to achieve these goals through three principal means:

• Grants that include General Operating Support and Special General Program Support in the category of Arts Basic to Education and Arts Education Special Initiative Grants to discipline-specific organizations to encourage their greater involvement with and impact on New Jersey schools;
• A battery of Arts Education Cosponsored Programs carried out in partnership with numerous private nonprofit organizations that place teaching artists in schools and after school settings, support teacher training, artist training, education reform, arts education advocacy, and the development of model schools;
• Funding policies and overall grant support that encourage, reward, and help underwrite the vast array of arts education programs provided by arts organizations and community groups.

To stay informed about future grant opportunities, be sure to sign up for the Council’s newsletter.

Important Resources for Organizations and Individuals Interested in Pursuing a Grant Opportunity with the State Arts Council:

Step-by-Step Guide to Using SAGE Grants System
NJSTART Quick Reference Guide
NJ Division of Revenue
NJ Division of Consumer Affairs (Charities Registration)

Supporting Documents for Interested Applicants:

Glossary
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Special Guidance for Applications in Arts Basic to Education
Special Guidance for Applications in Folk Arts

Please note: all guidelines and supporting documents are subject to change. If you have questions about these programs, please contact Council staff.

Artists in Education (AIE)

AIE is the cornerstone of the Arts Council Arts Education Program and is cosponsored with Young Audiences Arts for Learning New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania (YA). Through this grant program, practicing professional artists are placed in long-term residencies (20 days) in schools across the state. Residencies are offered in all disciplines and at all grade levels.

Applications are now closed. Please visit www.njaie.org for more information.

Arts Education Special Initiative Grants (AESI)

New Jersey arts organizations and units of government, colleges, or universities with an arts education-based mission are invited to apply for this grant program to support new or expanded programs that make substantial contributions to quality arts education in schools and youth agencies. This grant category intends to aid arts organizations in developing their full potential as community resources to educational systems throughout New Jersey and create a stronger infrastructure for arts education statewide.

Application Deadline: Applications are now closed. For more information, be sure to sign up for the Council’s newsletter.

AESI Grant Guidelines – English
AESI Grant Guidelines – Spanish
AESI Grant Application Technical Assistance

Through the Council's many cosponsored projects in arts education, several important objectives are achieved: the annual placement of scores of professional artists in classrooms everywhere, the professional training of artists and educators to work effectively together, support for arts education advocacy and literacy in the arts, statewide focus on key issues, the creation of model, arts-infused schools and more.

NJ Arts Education Census Project

The New Jersey Arts Education Census Project is a statewide survey for the visual and performing arts led by Arts Ed NJ.

The survey quantifies student enrollment in arts education programs for each school, establishes spending patterns over time for arts education, providing a basis for analyses of growth and decline of enrollment relative to other school programs. In addition, economic, demographic, census, school report card, and growth forecasts will be linked together to provide context regarding additional factors that impact access to arts education in a community.

All four reports may be viewed and downloaded at www.artsednj.org.

The New Jersey Arts Education Census Project is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Quadrant Research.

Arts Professional Learning Institute (APLI)

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Young Audiences Arts for Learning New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania (YA) is pleased to present the Arts Professional Learning Institute (APLI). APLI is New Jersey's arts education professional learning opportunity that pairs teaching artists and school partners in collaborative, engaging workshops throughout the state. This paid opportunity is available for teaching artists and classroom educators who work within the state of NJ.

APLI's mission is to provide professional learning opportunities to New Jersey’s teaching artists, classroom teachers, and school administrators. APLI aims to engage the arts educator in inclusive, progressive, arts-based professional learning experiences so that the whole student can be reached, inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived ability.

To learn more about this paid opportunity, visit njapli.org.

NJ Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud, a free national program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, encourages high school students across the country to learn about great works of classic and contemporary poetry through memorization and recitation. Not only do they share their interpretation and delivery of poetry, but they also vie for awards and scholarships totaling $50,000.

In New Jersey, Poetry Out Loud is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in collaboration with Count Basie Center for the Arts. Additional support for NJPOL is provided by ArtPride NJ Foundation and local partners.

All New Jersey public, charter, private, and parochial high schools and New Jersey home school associations are invited to participate. Poetry Out Loud can be facilitated in school classrooms, after-school programs, through community organizations, and libraries by a teacher, teaching artist, or program facilitator. In New Jersey, middle schools are invited to implement the New Jersey Poetry Out Loud (NJPOL) curriculum; however, they are not eligible to participate in the contests. Learn more at www.njpol.org.