Give to the Art Center Fund

2022 has been a year of regrowth, and what an exciting year it was at the Art Center! Thanks to the support of our incredible community, we were able to welcome visitors and students to a full year of in-person classes, programs, workshops, and exhibitions. Because of our supporters, we were able to bring art to more than 8,000 people in our region, and with art comes the power to heal, lift spirits, and enrich our lives.

This season, we thank our partners for helping keep the Art Center strong and vibrant and ask for your continued support in reaching our goal of $45,000 by December 31 to help us continue our mission of transforming and enriching lives through the shared experience of art. Your generosity allows the Art Center to be an inclusive institution that embraces all abilities and helps us continue to provide and work with underserved audiences.

With your support, the Art Center impacts lives through arts enrichment in Summit and in the wider community, including students from our partnership with Jefferson Arts Academy, the PEP Program, and Elizabeth Public Schools. These programs work with public school students who lack the resources for formal arts education and exposure to museum exhibitions. One teacher from Elizabeth shared with us:

“This art experience—gallery and workshop—is a gift and a huge opportunity for our students.”

And here in Summit, our impact is broad, from SAGE Eldercare participants to Summit Public School students. Our partnership with Empowering Kids Organization connects local under-resourced children and their families with unique arts experiences, ultimately providing nine scholarships this year for these students to continue exploring the arts in Studio School classes.

At the heart of the Art Center’s community programs, of course, lies our identity as an art museum. As one of only nine accredited museums in New Jersey, Art Center visitors see new and exciting exhibitions each season that are both artistically and culturally diverse. Our current exhibition, Ripple Effect, showcases the artwork of 37 of our talented teaching artists and speaks to the far-reaching impact of the faculty who impart their expert skills to students through our Studio School and community programs.

This exhibition launches a year-long celebration of the Art Center’s 90th Anniversary. For 90 years now, the Art Center has been an integral part of our community. Today, our programs reach across the state, making the arts an even greater part of New Jersey’s story. Your donation to the Art Center will help provide scholarships to more children, strengthen studio arts education for all ages, and enrich our community’s cultural life through new and innovative art exhibitions, art-in-healing initiatives, and powerful arts educational programs.

As the year ends, we write to thank you for being a trusted friend of the Art Center and to ask for your support in helping us continue our mission. It is only through your generosity that we can continue our good work. Did you know that revenue from the Studio School only covers about 60% of the cost of running the Art Center? The other 40% depends on grants and charitable support from donors like you. And, of course, because we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your gift to us is fully tax-deductible to the extent of the law.