One vitally important way that the Council achieves its goals of service to the needs of the entire state is through a battery of cosponsored programs and initiatives. By partnering with other organizations that share the same goals, the Council is able to widen the resources applied to the issue and build a statewide infrastructure of support. These grant funds leverage others and make for more efficient and cost effective use of public funds.
FFDP offers broad access to cultural experiences for residents on state assistance programs and helps cultural organizations engage and build new audiences.
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the New Jersey Historical Commission have partnered with the NJ Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Health (DOH) to launch New Jersey’s Families First Discovery Pass (FFDP) program. This program provides families and individuals enrolled in state assistance programs with free or highly discounted admission to arts and history organizations, venues and programs. The Families First Discovery Pass Program offers broad access to cultural experiences for New Jersey residents and helps cultural organizations engage new audiences with the goal of building long-lasting relationships. Residents who receive benefits through SNAP, WFNJ, Child Care Subsidy and/or WIC are eligible for free or steeply discounted cultural programs throughout the State.
Learn more about the program and participating organizations.
CAN is a multifaceted resource to support cultural organizations in making their programs and facilities accessible to seniors and individuals with disabilities
The Cultural Access Network Project is a program of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The Project provides a wide range of services and programs to assist theatres and cultural organizations in making their programs and facilities accessible to seniors and people with disabilities.
The programs of the Cultural Access Network Project are guided by a volunteer steering committee representing arts patrons, state and county officials, arts administrators, and managers from organizations serving people with disabilities.
The Cultural Access Network Project was established in 1992 to assist all of New Jersey’s cultural arts organizations in making their programs and facilities accessible to seniors and individuals with disabilities in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Cultural Access Network Project committee is comprised of individuals with specific knowledge and expertise in areas relating to accessible programming and facilities. All of the Cultural Access Network’s programs and services are made possible by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as other corporate, foundation, and government partners.
The Cultural Access Network Project serves as a role model program for other states to follow. The program was the recipient of the 2004 National Accessibility Leadership Award from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, National Endowment for the Arts and Coca-Cola.
State of the Arts is an Emmy Award-winning weekly television program that goes on location with the most creative people in New Jersey.
State of the Arts has been taking you on location with the most creative people in New Jersey and beyond since 1981. The New York and Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award-winning series features documentary shorts about an extraordinary range of artists – musicians, dancers, playwrights, poets, painters, photographers, and more. State of the Arts visits New Jersey’s best performance spaces – from little-known jazz clubs to outdoor festivals to the state’s exceptional professional theaters. Through our video features, newsletters, and social media, State of the Arts is on the frontlines of the creative and cultural worlds of New Jersey, one of the nation’s most diverse and populous states.
State of the Arts is a cornerstone program of NJ PBS, with episodes co-produced by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Stockton University, in cooperation with PCK Media. The series also airs on WNET and ALL ARTS.
To browse videos or make story suggestions visit www.stateoftheartsnj.com.
The Public Art Archive provides open access to works of public art across New Jersey.
Since the passage of the Public Building Arts Inclusion Act in 1978, New Jersey’s Public Arts Inclusion Program has led to the commissioning and installation of hundreds of artworks in state financed construction projects. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts assists State agencies and universities in the selection of artists for projects including those for NJ TRANSIT’s Transit Arts Program, and major projects like new buildings, renovations, monuments, and memorials.
In addition to featuring the many works created through the Public Building Arts Inclusion Act, the State Arts Council seeks to highlight all forms of public art in New Jersey. By undertaking an online archive of public art from across the state, the State Arts Council aims to make New Jersey’s vast collection of art in public spaces easy to find, connect with, and enjoy. The New Jersey Public Art Archive provides open access to works of public art for anyone visiting, studying, or simply passing by, and helps every New Jersey resident locate the art in their own communities. The online archive will continue to grow, as will New Jersey’s collection of inspiring, informative, and reflective works of art.
Visit the New Jersey Public Art Archive.DJA is a multifaceted program that connects audiences with New Jersey’s dynamic arts community.
Discover Jersey Arts (DJA) is an award-winning program presented by ArtPride New Jersey and co-founded by the State Arts Council. DJA connects audiences with New Jersey’s dynamic arts community through engaging articles, podcasts, and videos that go behind the scenes and interviews the personalities who bring the arts to life.
DJA’s also offers a searchable directory that quickly connects audiences to arts organizations based on location and category. Individuals can create a free account to customize their experience and access eSavers ticket deals.
If you work for an arts organization, check out the Get Involved page to learn how to connect with ArtPride and get featured on JerseyArts.com.
The New Jersey Arts and Culture Administrators of Color is a network of professional arts administrators of color dedicated to advancing efforts related to equity, diversity, and inclusion within New Jersey’s arts community. This initiative is a partnership between New Jersey Theatre Alliance, ArtPride New Jersey, and New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
The aim of the Network is to provide self-identified people of color working in the state’s arts organizations a safe space to connect, and a platform to share their expertise, experiences, and creativity. The Network’s objective is to connet, empower, and cultivate professional arts and cultural leaders throughout the Garden State. The program aims to build a community that affords members the opportunity to develop personal and professional connections, share resources, and foster emerging leaders.
Cosponsored with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), this program is aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the financial health and trends of the nonprofit arts industry and assisting organizations in achieving greater financial health. NFF provides Audit Review & Financial Summaries (ARFS) based on a thorough assessment of grantee financial health, and provides workshops, webinars, and small group financial leadership clinics for grantees to build foundational knowledge around financial management tools.
The CNJG Culture Funders Affinity Group includes private and public grantmakers working in the arts and humanities across NJ. It aims to maximize the leadership potential and grantmaking abilities of those interested in developing a strong and thriving arts community in New Jersey. The Council’s Director of Grants & Strategies is the Co-Chair of the Affinity Group.
Since the passage of the Public Building Arts Inclusion Act in 1978, this program has led to the commissioning and installation of hundreds of artworks in state financed construction projects of State Buildings. Up to 1.5% of the construction budget is set aside for this purpose. The Council assists State agencies and State Universities in the selection of artists for all projects including those for NJ Transit’s Transit Arts Program and such major projects as the WW II Memorial and the NJ September 11 Memorial design competition. Announcements of New Jersey Arts Inclusion Projects are publicized through CaFE and listed under the “Public Art” category when available. With questions about this program please contact Danielle Bursk.
The Council uses CaFE to give visual artists access to State Arts Inclusion commission opportunities. The free registration provides monthly listings of arts inclusion projects not only for New Jersey but for other states as well. Artists can upload 100 images of their work, resume, bio and more to be used in applying for commissions announced through CaFE. With questions about this program, please contact Danielle Bursk.
The Council hosts this annual, multipart series of professional learning for artists. The Business of Being an Artist series is free and open to any artist, teaching artist, or folk artist who lives and/or works in New Jersey. Sessions are led by local and national experts, covering topics such as writing artist statements, crowdfunding, health insurance options, and more. For information about the 2025-2026 series - beginning Fall 2025 - be sure to sign-up for the Council's Artist Services and Opportunities for the Field newsletters. With questions about this program, please contact Samantha Clarke, Stephanie Nerbak, or Sally Van de Water.
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.
The New Jersey Visual and Performing Arts Survey is a statewide school-by-school mandatory survey for the visual and performing arts as part of the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project (NJAECP), a partnership of the Arts Council, the NJ Department of Education, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Arts Ed NJ, ArtPride NJ Foundation and Quadrant Research.
The survey will quantify student enrollment in arts education programs for each school, establish 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. The final results can be found at www.artsednj.org.
Poetry Out Loud, a free national program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, 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 and Count Basie Center for the Arts in collaboration with a growing network of regional partners to implement the program statewide.
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.
Folk and traditional arts development in New Jersey has been guided by a Folk Arts Infrastructure Plan created with input from folk cultural specialists, folk artists and practitioners, and diverse communities throughout the state. Core to implementation of that plan is the development of a network of regional folklife centers in the state that conduct fieldwork research in their regions and produce and present programs to preserve and highlight the great diversity of folk arts traditions practiced in New Jersey.
The Council is proud to support and work closely with our State’s five regional Folklife Centers:
Folklife Center of Northern NJ (Passaic, NJ)
The Regional Folklife Center at The Arts Institute of Middlesex County (New Brunswick, NJ)
Jersey Shore Folklife Center (Tuckerton, NJ)
Down Jersey Folklife Center (Millville, NJ)
New Jersey Folklife at Perkins Center (Collingswood and Moorestown, NJ)
A multi-day professional development convening for individuals working in the folk and traditional arts in New Jersey and New York. Training and discussion topics include programming formats, arts education, folk art and community health, place-based folklife, archiving and fieldwork, and access and inclusion. The event is sponsored, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as well as the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey