Camden Community Partnership has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support Arnetta’s Band Camp. Arnetta’s Band Camp (ABC) is a 6-day music immersion and professional development opportunity that introduces Camden youth to curriculum and mentorship from professional touring musicians. ABC is the vision of boundary-pushing jazz musician and Camden resident Arnetta Johnson, “That Trumpet Chic.” Johnson came of age at a time when her hometown was known as “the most dangerous city in America,” and found refuge in the summer experience known as “band camp.” Now she’s back to mentor young creatives with this free, professional development experience.
Camden Community Partnership’s project is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Camden Community Partnership that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “Camden Community Partnership in Camden, NJ is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”
“We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for providing us a $10,000 grant to support Arnetta’s Band Camp,” said Dana Redd, Chair of Camden Community Partnership and CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers—Camden Board of Governors. “Music and art are part of Camden’s DNA and integral to our vision of building a sustainable creative economy. This grant is a down payment towards bringing our vision to fruition.”
“The arts and humanities are what make Camden City and county a special place to live, and this grant funding will allow us to provide a space where our youth can thrive through music,” Commissioner Jeffrey Nash said. “This grant money will give an outlet to our youth by immersing them in their passion and bringing back a tremendously talented resident to facilitate this impactful program.”
Through ABC, Johnson, Camden Community Partnership and Camden County will provide 20 campers with the atmosphere and mental release that gets children away from their trauma and into their instruments. Built on the pillars of success that have supported her musical journey, ABC focuses on mentorship and creative freedom with opportunities for individual attention not possible in school music class.
You can see Arnetta Johnson in concert at the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Perelman Theater on Saturday, March 19th 2022 at 8:00pm. Visit www.kimmelculturalcampus.org for tickets.
For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
About Camden Community Partnership
Camden Community Partnership (CCP), formerly Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, was founded in 1984 as a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to coherently planning and implementing high-quality urban redevelopment projects aimed at improving quality of life for the residents of Camden, NJ. Today, CCP’s key organizational programs can be broadly categorized as Sustainability & the Built Environment, Economic Development, and Placemaking, which takes place via the Connect the Lots initiative (CTL). CTL is a community-driven initiative to activate Camden’s underutilized spaces, CTL has implemented a series of artistic, cultural, and recreational programs, including fitness classes, concerts, movie nights, and the Camden Jam Arts & Music Festival. The goal of CTL is to engage Camden residents in neighborhood transformation, creating safe nodes of activity and bring vibrancy to Camden’s corridors and public spaces. CTL began as a handful of events in only two neighborhoods. Now, in its 6th year, CTL features city-wide programming all summer long.
