Stockton's Art Gallery, Dance Company and Experimental Theatre Receives Developmental Grant

Art Gallery, Dance Company and Experimental Theatre were among 17 organizations in Atlantic County to receive developmental grants, the county announced.

The 17 organizations earned a total of more than $64,000 in state local arts development funds through a competitive grant application process administered by the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.

The New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State grant awards range in value from $500 to $5,000, and must be matched dollar for dollar by the non-profit organizations, and three-to-one by the educational institutions.

“These grant applications are reviewed by independent panels, usually culled from outside the County,” Michael Cool, executive director of the Stockton Performing Arts Center and co-chairman of the Atlantic County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board, said. “We provide the organizations with workshops on grant writing so they can build really strong proposals. This year those workshops were mandatory and it was gratifying to see how much more solid many of the presentations were.”

Other organizations receiving the grants include: Somers Point Jazz Society, Hammonton Art Center, Atlantic City Ballet, South Jersey Wind Symphony and The Eagle Theatre. Organizations receiving awards for general program support of special projects are: Absecon Lighthouse/Inlet Public Private Association, Atlantic County Library Foundation, Atlantic Pops Community Band, Atlantic Youth Orchestra, Chicken Bone Beach Foundation, Children’s Cultural Foundation, Cygnus Creative Art Center and The Arc of Atlantic County, City of Somers Point.

“This funding contributes to the development of a lively arts community which continues to grow and enrich the lives of both residents and visitors,” Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said.

For more information contact the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 609-646-8699 ext 6314 or email: cmaonpurdie@aclsys.org. To learn more about arts organizations in Atlantic County visit: aclink.org/culturalaffairs/openup.