Dear Colleagues,

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is in the midst of a formal strategic planning process, where every area of our work is being evaluated, including operations, policies, services, and grantmaking. We are building on the strides already taken toward achieving greater balance, and ultimately a more diversified, broader, positive impact, and we need your input as part of the process.

The Arts Council has engaged AMS Planning & Research, a national arts management consulting firm, to provide support in developing our next strategic plan. Now that the recent community survey of New Jersey's arts sector has closed, the next step is a series of Virtual Public Listening Sessions, hosted by AMS. We hope that you can participate in one of these four sessions taking place in January 2023.

Any member of the public is welcome to join.

Registration is required to attend the sessions, and for ease of helping guide the conversation, AMS has divided the sessions into focus areas: two sessions focused on how the Council can better serve individual artists, and two sessions focused on how the Council can better serve arts organizations and their communities. To ensure all attendees are able to contribute to a robust, thoughtful conversation, registration will be capped at 100 attendees per session. 

January 18, 2023 | 10:00 AM - Individual Artists | Register here.

January 19, 2023 | 7:00 PM - Arts Organizations | Register here.

January 24, 2023 | 7:00 PM - Individual Artists | Register here.

January 25, 2023 | 12:00 PM - Arts Organizations | Register here.

The information gathered through these sessions will be anonymized by AMS before it is shared with the Council.

If you have any questions about participating, please reach out to Rebekah Boggs, Project Coordinator at AMS: rboggs@ams-online.com.

Thank you for your time!

With Regards,

Allison Tratner, Executive Director

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council believes the arts are central to every element we value most in a modern society including: human understanding; cultural and civic pride; strong communities; excellent schools; lifelong learning; creative expression; and economic opportunity. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.