New Jersey: Cultural Alliance for Response

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey was devastating, and the state’s arts industry was not spared. The 2012 storm destroyed nonprofit arts venues as well as the homes, businesses and studios of artists, leaving in its wake the dual challenge of rebuilding structures and recovering business and revenue loss. With an eye toward protecting artists and the state’s cultural ecology from future natural or manmade disasters, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) has worked with public and private partners to establish the New Jersey Cultural Alliance for Response (NJCAR). NJCAR is a new network of organizations and individuals dedicated to empowering New Jersey’s cultural communities to preserve assets and sustain operations before, during and after a disaster. Consisting of representatives from the arts as well as libraries, archives and history communities, NJCAR provides remote and on-site assistance to artists and cultural organizations navigating an emergency or disaster. It also supports related trainings and information exchanges, and it maintains a network of emergency management experts and services. Furthermore, NJCAR has worked with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management to incorporate cultural resources into the statewide Emergency Response Framework for disaster planning, risk assessment, hazard mitigation and recovery. Modeled on and affiliated with the national Alliance for Response program, NJCAR is holding its first statewide summit this month. To learn more, contact NJSCA Arts Director of Communications Allison Tratner.