The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) and Hudson County Community College (HCCC) present the New Jersey Creative Communities Conference 2025: The Art of Community Well-Being (NJCCC 2025). The conference takes place at the Hudson County Community College Culinary.

The NJCCC 2025 is produced by the NNJCF, a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Hackensack, and HCCC, a public community college in Jersey City. The statewide conference will bring together municipal, arts, and business leaders; artists in all fields; healthcare and wellness workers; grantmakers; students and scholars; and architects, civil engineers, placemakers, and urban planners to explore innovative ways to make communities better for everyone through art and creative placemaking.

The conference opens with a plenary session, Creative Financing for the Arts in New Jersey, featuring a panel discussion outlining how different communities support the arts in their towns. Speakers for the session include Annie McAdams, Public Art Administrator, City of Hoboken Cultural Affairs; Christine Goodman, Director, Office of Cultural Affairs Jersey City; Elizabeth Limbrick, Director of Brownfields and Sustainable Systems, New Jersey Economic Development Authority; and Phil Abramson, AICP/PP, Principal, Topology, Inc. Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP, Executive Director of the NNJCF, will moderate the panel discussion.

Breakout sessions and workshops will be offered in these four tracks:

1. Art and Community Health. Art and artful environments benefit mental and physical health and well-being.

2. Community Economic Development. The arts and placemaking boost local economies, create jobs and support cultural entrepreneurship.

3. Empowering and Supporting Social Practice Artists. Training and supporting artists and emerging artists, who want to help communities, is needed.

4. Inclusive and Accessible Communities. The arts can help make places more welcoming and comfortable for everyone by increasing accessibility and addressing diversity, equity and inclusion for people with disabilities.

Workshop Sessions

These workshops are confirmed and scheduled to take place.

• Creative Placemaking 101: Find Your Place in Creative Placemaking – Kadie Dempsey, CORE Creative Placemaking, Morristown

• How to Break Into the Public Art Field – Sherwin Banfield, Visual Artist

• Championing Social Change Through the Arts – Michelle Vitale, Hudson County Community College

• MANA Future Art Leaders – Kristin DeAngelis, MANA Contemporary

• Working with Artists on Public Art Projects – Lauren Craig, Newark Arts

• Supporting Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Small Businesses Through Creative Placemaking – Melissa Kim, Village of the Arts and Humanities and Stephanie Michel, Olney Community Collaborative

• Model Projects for Growing Community Health Through the Arts – Maria Daniel, Dancer and Adjunct Professor at Hudson County Community College

• Prescribing Creativity: Promoting Health Equity Through Arts-on-Prescription – Alyson Maier Lokuta, New Jersey Performing Arts Center

• Integrating Arts Effectively into Downtown and Commercial Corridors – Tracy Gavant, Main Street POPS

• Addressing Gentrification through Creative Placemaking – Anthony Alvarez, Artist, Rutgers University – Newark and Express Newark

• Community Colleges as Local Cultural Centers – Drs. Christopher Reber and Yeurys Pujols, Hudson County Community College

• Social Media Content: Making Work More Accessible – Danielle Lopez, Hudson County Community College

Registration

Registration for the NJCCC 2025 may be done conveniently online at https://www.nnjcf.org/njcc25/. Visit the site to find a range of ticket prices available for general admission, exhibitors, the reception and other categories. Hudson County Community College faculty, staff and students may attend the conference and reception free-of-charge by registering in advance with an HCCC education email.

For additional information about the NJCCC 2025, contact the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s Executive Director, Leonardo Vazquez, at [email protected] or call 201-568-5608 extension 2.

Sponsors and Donations Appreciated

The NNJCF seeks sponsors and donations to support the NJCCC 20225. Sponsors will connect with decisionmakers and influencers, and sponsorships will also support programs to enhance quality of life in North Jersey communities and provide scholarships for HCCC students. Sponsorship opportunities may be found online, https://www.nnjcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NJCC-2025-Sponsorship-Information.pdf. To date, sponsors for the conference include the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Donations of any size are welcome and may be made online at https://www.nnjcf.org/donation/. Contributions may also be sent by check made out to 'The Northern N.J. Community Foundation', with ‘NJCCC 2025 entered in the memo line. Send checks to the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, 1 University Plaza, Suite 102, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601. For further information about sponsorships, donations, or the NNJCF, call 201-568-5608 or send an e-mail to [email protected].