NJ State Council on the Arts New Jersey Heritage Fellow performs at the South Jersey Irish Session. Photo: State of the Arts
New Jersey’s many geographic and demographic settings are interwoven with ethnic, cultural, and occupational networks, creating a dynamic array of communities. In them, folk and traditional arts are valued ways of expressing identity and strengthening group ties. To support this cultural richness, the Council supports a multifaceted Folk & Traditional Arts Program, including the support of five regional folklife centers and project grants.
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:
For questions about the Network, contact Sally Van de Water.
One of the most diverse states in the country, New Jersey is home to an amazing array of traditional artists, each a keeper of an age-old art form. In July 2023, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts honored ten of these artists as the inaugural cohort of New Jersey Heritage Fellows. These fellowships recognize artistic excellence, lifetime achievement, and contributions to New Jersey’s traditional arts heritage.
In addition to the $20,000 grant each artist receives, they are also featured on the Emmy Award-winning television series State of the Arts. The State Arts Council is a co-producer of State of the Arts with Stockton University, in cooperation with PCK Media. For over forty years, State of the Arts has faithfully chronicled the cultural life of New Jersey. This special series on the New Jersey Heritage Fellows was created to put a spotlight on the living folk arts of the Garden State.
The first episode focuses on five of the FY24 Fellows: Kathy DeAngelo, an Irish fiddler and harper; Mary May, a traditional South Jersey basket-maker; Valerie Vaughn, who sings tales of the Pinelands and the Shore; Ylvia Asal, who makes “Oya” lace in honor of her Anatolian heritage; and Nelson Baez, a master of Puerto Rican Bomba who works to pass the music on to the next generation.
The second episode features the remaining five FY24 Fellows: Afro-Peruvian Cajon player Hector Morales; African-American storyteller Queen Nur; Lena Mija Kim, a master of centuries-old Korean dance; and percussionist Juan Cartagena and dancer Nanette Hernández – a husband/wife duo combining their passion for social justice with the practice of Puerto Rican Bomba y Plena.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey