114 Newark artists receive the Creative Catalyst Funds Award

Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced this past Tuesday the recipients of the 2022 Creative Catalyst Fund awards to provide artists and cultural groups with flexible grant support in recognition of the immense social and economic value the creative sector brings to Newark.  

A selection committee composed of local artists, curators, community representatives, City staff, and funders, recommended 148 applications for funding. A total amount of 114 grants will be awarded to individual artists and artists’ collectives with an average award of $3,200; and 34 grants will be awarded to small and mid-sized arts organizations with an average award of $10,100.

“Newark has a long history as a center of the arts, and our administration has supported the arts in word and deed, creating great works like the second-longest public mural on the East Coast. We are proud to write a new chapter by supporting this year’s grantees. Their works will define the voice and talent of a new generation of Newark artists for our present and future,” Mayor Baraka said.

The Creative Catalyst Fund was created by Mayor Baraka in January 2020 as a multi-year initiative providing the local community of artists and small and mid-sized arts organizations up to $1 million annually for at least three years. Laun-ched at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the Fund has awarded a total of $2.35 million in grants in its first three years. In its most recent year, the Fund awarded 134 artists and organizations funding for programs that served more than 250,000 Newark residents and visitors and paid over 1,000 additional artists for their work supporting these projects. Grantees used the funds to help pay for operating costs, space rentals, staff, supplies and equipment, and COVID-related expenses.