South Jersey artists may benefit from $72,000 in grants to support those impacted by COVID

There is no mistaking the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the arts community in New Jersey, but there is ongoing assistance.

Artists and history professionals in South Jersey may benefit from a new relief grant process.

The South Jersey Cultural Alliance has received a $50,000 grant from the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund, which will directly support artists and history professionals negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Two other South Jersey organizations were awarded grants from the NJACRF in this phase as well: Superior Arts Institute in Camden and the Atlantic City Arts Foundation.

The SJCA, an organization committed to connecting the South Jersey cultural community to information, resources and more, will award $1,000 South Jersey Artist & History Professional COVID Relief Grants to 50 working artists and history professionals based in South Jersey, including Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties.

Priority will be given to those historically excluded and in oppressed communities, including those who self-identify as Black, LatinX, Asian Pacific Islander, Indigenous and/or people of color, LGBTQ+ and People with Disabilities, a press release stated.

This third phase of grants awarded by the NJACRF, which totaled more than $590,000, brings the total amount of funding to more than $4.5 million in support of 172 nonprofits working in the arts, culture and history sector.

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“SJCA is delighted to receive the generous Phase III Intermediary Grant from New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund,” said SJCA’s Executive Director Julie Hain in the release. “As South Jersey's regional arts & culture support organization, connecting artists and cultural professionals with the resources they need to thrive is central to our mission. With the help of SJCA's inclusive community of over 1,000 cultural assets, we will distribute these funds broadly, equitably, and quickly to artists and history professionals in need!”

Applications are now open to apply for the SJCA relief grant. The deadline is June 26.

SJCA is partnering with Rowan University’s Arts Engine to administer the $1,000 grants, it said. The organization is working with members of the Perkins Center for the Arts’ Heritage Evident And Relevant (H.E.A.R.) committee, as well as members of SJCA’s Engagement, Equity, & Advocacy committee to review grant applications and make award determinations.

Meanwhile, Superior Arts Institute is particularly excited about the resources their grant award from the NJACRF will bring to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) community in the area, according to its Executive Director Samir Nichols.

The mission of the organization is to provide the greater Camden area with “an artistic outlet for residents to embark upon compelling experience utilizing advocacy through the art of dance, acting, film and production management.” Superior Arts Institute regularly partners with local schools and community organizations.

“We are so appreciative to the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund for this generous award,” Nichols said. “Awards like this are first steps to breaking the barrier of access to philanthropic opportunities for artists of color.”

Superior Arts Institute, in recognizing the impact COVID-19 has had on the artist community, has created a 2022 Greater Camden Area Artist Fund, a regrant program that will provide $22,000 total (grants will be between $500 to $5,000) for recipients in direct assistance to local artists who experienced a loss of anticipated artist revenue since March of 2020 due to the pandemic. The regrant program is made possible with the generous support from the NJACRF.

“Our goal is to meet artists where they’re at, providing validation that their creativity has value and inspiring them to continue on their path as paid artists,” Superior Arts said in a statement on its website.

“In the Greater Camden area, Black and brown artists have historically lacked access to artistic opportunities, especially ones that are paid – and the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this by halting face-to-face gatherings and turning the arts/culture/entertainment world upside down. Our fund will provide direct relief to artists who demonstrate hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Visit the Superior Arts Institute website at: superiorartsinstitute.org/artist-fund for more information on applying for the artist fund.

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The NJACRF, hosted by the Princeton Area Community Foundation, was named the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund when it was founded in 2020. Recently, the name of the fund was changed from “Recovery” to “Renewal” to signify the fund’s support of a strong comeback for smaller arts and culture organizations and funding for a sustainable future, it said.

“Recovery to renewal signifies a shift from crisis support to an opportunity to change the actual system itself,” said Jeremy Grunin, co-chair of the NJACRF and president of the Grunin Foundation.

“We always knew that smaller nonprofits most vulnerable to disruptions and those historically underfunded prior to the pandemic were going to need longer-term support. The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund will create an additional resource of fast and flexible funding that wasn’t previously available – helping to build a much stronger arts, cultural, and historical ecosystem in New Jersey.”

Celeste E. Whittaker is a features reporter for the Courier Post, Daily Journal and Burlington County Times. The South Jersey native started at the CP in 1998 and has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college and high school sports and has won awards for her work. Reach her at cwhittaker@gannettnj.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey artists, professionals may benefit from COVID grants