Newark Symphony Hall receives $2.75M to support capital improvements, programming

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NEWARK, NJ — Continuing an upward trajectory for the 1920s-era performing arts center as it approaches a century of existence, Newark Symphony Hall announced Aug. 30 that it has received a combined $2.75 million in donations from Prudential Financial and the Mellon Foundation. Prudential contributed $2 million to NSH as part of the performing arts center’s 100th anniversary capital improvement campaign, and the Mellon Foundation gifted $750,000 to develop the venue’s programming department. 

“Newark Symphony Hall is a community pillar and longtime partner,” said Nicole Butler, vice president of inclusive solutions at Prudential Financial. “This funding helps preserve a historical treasure, continues our support of Newark’s vibrant arts community and moves Newark Symphony Hall closer to achieving its renovation goals.” 

The capital improvement campaign is positioned to create 500 construction jobs and contracting opportunities for 50 small businesses in the community. It is expected to utilize federal historic tax credits, among other economic development funding tools for catalytic projects. The venue, located at 1020 Broad St. in Newark, is in a designated opportunity zone. 

The $750,000 gift from the Mellon Foundation enables the establishment of a new programming department for NSH. 

“NSH gives voice to artists who have long contributed to our understanding of community,” said Emil J. Kang, program director for arts and culture at the Mellon Foundation. “We are honored to support Taneshia Nash Laird’s leadership and NSH’s commitment to honoring the rich legacy and creativity of Newark.” 

Mellon’s grant will support three years of staffing for a director, manager and coordinator. This will be the first time in nearly two decades that the multifunctional facility — a complex encompassing multiple performance and rehearsal spaces, including a dance studio — will have dedicated programming staff. Accordingly, the department’s responsibilities will include assessing the community’s programming needs, developing internal infrastructure and scaling the programming’s scope and reach. 

According to NSH President and CEO Taneshia Nash Laird, a major focus of the new department will be to “center the cultures of communities of color, those traditionally marginalized, but who constitute majorities in the city and state and around the globe — including from the African, Latinx and Asian diasporas.”

Detailing how the funds will propel the Newark institution’s mission, Nash Laird also said, “After piloting a number of programs in the past two years, including the artist-activated #EmbraceNewark pandemic relief initiative with poet Jasmine Mans as creative director, launching the state’s New Jersey Youth Poet Laureate program, and creating The Lab performing arts incubator and career accelerator, the dedicated programming department will facilitate our program production in all of our venues — including the Sarah Vaughan concert hall, our legendary Terrace Ballroom and our black box theater.” 

Additionally, for the first time in decades, NSH has been receiving state funding: $5 million in New Jersey’s 2022 budget and $6 million in the state’s 2023 budget. 

Photos Courtesy of Clarke Caton Hintz

  Newark Symphony Hall, Prudential