The South Jersey Cultural Alliance has been blessing the South Jersey arts community for years. The SJCA sponsors regular art zoom meetings, has made membership accessible to the larger arts community, and brings artists together via the Internet and networking platforms.
Now the SJCA is in the midst of one of its most exciting and important tasks.
Since May of 2022, the SJCA has been accepting applications from artists negatively affected by COVID and lockdowns.
In July, SJCA will announce the recipients of the South Jersey Artist and History Professional COVID Relief Grant. Each award winner will receive $1,000. The quickest way to apply is to go directly to https://bit.ly/SJCACOVIDGrant22.
For more details and some insight, I spoke to Membership and Programs Liaison April Harley about the SJCA today and the South Jersey Artist and History Professional COVID Relief Grant.
SL-April Harley, thanks for your time. Please take a moment to tell us what SJCA is.
AH: Hi Raymond! Thank you for inviting me today to be the voice behind sharing the SJCA story. SJCA, officially known as the South Jersey Cultural Alliance, is an arts and culture support organization that has been around for almost 30 years. Our mission is to connect arts, history, and cultural organizations, artists and tradition bearers to each other, their communities, and the resources they need to flourish across the eight southern New Jersey counties.
Founded by a small group of cultural leaders collectively advocating for increased cultural funding in South Jersey, SJCA grew to include many non-profit arts and history organizations in its membership.
SJCA became a go-to resource for connecting with colleagues in the field, professional development, and resource development.
Over the past few years, the goal soon became to expand its reach and represent the full spectrum of arts and culture in South Jersey.
There is a diverse, dynamic, and multifaceted community here and we want to help keep our artists, organizations, tradition bearers, and others working in the field connected, informed, and well supported.
SL: Please take a moment to discuss your role.
AH: I recently joined the SJCA team to further develop and execute the new initiatives that the organization has been committed to implementing.
Simply put, my role at SJCA is to connect with and build the network of artists, art educators, historians and culture by engaging with fellow members, community activists, non-profit sectors and larger organizations.
Through informal convenings to shared learning experiences and discussion forums, I will help bridge gaps and keep our community connected. I will be designing programming that will reflect the needs and interests expressed by the community.
With a background in the arts, community organization and event curation, I am blessed to find a circle of like-minded individuals that I believe in, with whom to take this journey.
SL-With so many arts related organizations in South Jersey, one can’t join them all and still have energy to create. What kinds of artists are ideal for SJCA?
AH: I think the beauty of the current goals of the organization are to expand and redefine what or who artists are, and have the potential to be.
Outside of the traditional amazing painters and musicians, we support all art forms, from dance, theater, media/film, art and other various mediums and encourage them to explore the plethora of outlets that we as a non-profit organization bring together.
Why should an artist be excited about SJCA?
Artists, art educators, history gurus, makers, artisans and more should be excited to become part of the South Jersey movement.
We are thriving at a time when funding opportunities are increasing, diversity of art is emerging as well as the diversity of the voices behind the movement.
Most importantly, as a member or supporter, you have the chance to build this platform with us and help to cultivate culture and communities by sharing your story, all while benefiting and being rewarded for living your life’s purpose as a creator.
Members get to utilize our platform to promote their events and other updates and can seek assistance and get questions answered related to anything in their field of interest. Once you use the simple program of updating your basic information on what we call the SJCAMP software, you are immediately added to our database, placing you on the map for all to see. Not to mention the professional development classes, exclusive events and who can deny free giveaways and discounts to all things related to the arts?
The connections alone and accessibility to members that match your pursuits make being a member of the SJCA community well worth it.
SL-I don’t know any artists that were NOT affected by COVID from losing spaces, performances, to having art shows canceled, to painfully losing family. Please tell us about The South Jersey Artist and History Professional COVID Relief Grant.
AH: The world has been significantly impacted by the pandemic as a whole and we all know that artists contribute immensely when it comes to healing the world during and after drastic times.
Many suffered losses but it was also a time of intense creation. Many artists were able to create more then ever as a way to heal themselves and others. This grant opportunity, generously provided by the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund, is an opportunity for artists throughout the entire state of New Jersey.
As mentioned before, SJCA will be awarding 50 artists and history professionals with $1,000.00 each in July of 2022. We encourage everyone to apply as June 26 is the official deadline.
SL-The deadline is fast approaching, but sometimes applications can seem tricky. What is the best way for an artist to contact SJCA with requests for help and questions regarding the grant?
AH: Great question. We definitely worked hard to make the application process as easy as possible.
However, we all know how applications can oftentimes become deterrents, and we definitely do not want to be in the way of opportunity. So, please feel free to email me at aharley@sjca.net or call me during regular business hours at 609-833-7381.
Also, if you would like a nice walk-through of the application process, I will be holding weekly live office hors every Wednesday during the month of June, answering any questions that you may have.
Join this link each and every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. and I will guide you through the process. https://bit.ly/SJCAOfficeHours
SL- Will SJCA still seek to help artists post COVID grants? And what are some things artists can look forward to from SCJA come summer and fall?
AH: Of course. The mission of SJCA has always been and will continue to be to help provide our eclectic community of artists with the resources that they need.
Join our newsletter at www.sjca.net and stay in the loop of all of the opportunity that South Jersey has to offer as well as other state grants.
On our site you will be able to learn all about resources from various funders throughout the region all year long. Our newsletter will also keep you up to speed with the events that each county is hosting, such as your upcoming Sunset Cruise event, where you will be announcing you, Raymond Tyler, as the SJCA Artist Connector.
Thanks to our Thrive AC Arts Grant, we will finally be able to launch our first ever Ambassador/Fellowship program, supporting your efforts in the community and aiding to elevate your initiatives – prospering together.
SL-Is there anything else you’d like to share with us I failed to ask?
I would just like to thank you again for the opportunity to connect with you and your audience as we strive towards putting in the work to strengthen our arts community.
Again, please check out our website at www.sjca.net and follow us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
You can connect with Raymond Tyler via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram @RaymondTyler2018.
