Report To The Community 2022

“As an anchor
institution, it’s
important to us
that people feel like
NJPAC is their home
and we are their true
community partners.”
– Eyesha Marable
the people in
our
neighborhood
Doubling down on its commitment
to the Greater Newark community,
njpac collaborations
expand programming
Guests sipped fruity mocktails
and munched on empanadas,
saffron rice and other treats
from the cuisines of Ecuador,
Peru, Mexico, Colombia and
Argentina. The entertainment
included a salsa lesson and
folk dances performed by five
Newark area dance companies.
The food, the music, the decor —
flags of Latin American countries
hanging from the ceiling — gave
the room a distinctly global vibe.
This was NJPAC’s inaugural
Hispanic Heritage Night,
which took place in October
in the auditorium of the Center
for Arts Education, and is now
scheduled to be an annual event.
This special evening, which
drew 140 attendees, provides
an illuminating example of the
collaborative process behind
each event produced by NJPAC’s
Community Engagement
department as the Arts Center
reinforces its commitment to the
Greater Newark community.
Hispanic Heritage Night
was a joint effort of NJPAC’s
Community Engagement
department, Las Jardineras
(the NJPAC Hispanic/Latinx
Employee Resource Group),
the Latino Advisory Council
and one of NJPAC’s many
engaged partner organizations,
Mantena Global Care — a
nonprofit that supports the
welfare of Newark’s Brazilian
community and promotes
native and local culture.
With events like these, “NJPAC is
taking collaboration to a whole
new level,” says Eyesha Marable,
Assistant Vice President,
Community Engagement.
“As an anchor institution, it’s
important to us that people
In 2022, Community Engagement produced 280 free events including
(clockwise from top): NJPAC’s first annual Hispanic Heritage Night;
the second annual Performing Arts Center Consortium Education and
Community Engagement conference; Jazz Jams at Clement’s Place and
Summer Fun in the Park, presented with the Newark City Parks Foundation.
feel like this is their home and
we are their true community
partners, who are willing to
collaborate and co-create.”
This year, Community
Engagement produced more
than 280 free events across
Greater Newark, most made
possible through the Arts
Center’s deep relationships with
its 170 partner organizations
across the state, from public
libraries and houses of
worship to corporations,
schools, museums and social
service organizations.
Additionally, NJPAC has built
the foundation for an expansion
of those relationships, with
preparations for the launch
of a new neighborhood
ArtsXChange in Clinton Hill,
located in Newark’s South
Ward, in the spring of 2023.
The ArtsXChange will be a
project of the Arts Center and
Clinton Hill Community Action,
a neighborhood development
and advocacy group. The
Clinton Hill location is the first of
what may become a series of
community engagement: redoubling our commitment
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