For Immediate Release; Coverage welcomed

Contact:         Maryjane Briant 
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway Township, NJ 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu
                        (609) 652-4593
                        www.stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. - The South Jersey Cultural Alliance has relocated to Kramer Hall, Stockton University’s instructional site in Hammonton, N.J., and will celebrate with ribbon-cutting festivities and $1,000 gift to Main Street Hammonton on Tuesday, July 19 from 1-2:30 p.m.

The event begins at the site at 30 Front St. at 1 p.m. with a networking lunch including SJCA board members, Stockton President Harvey Kesselman and other university officials, officials from Hammonton, SJCA members, and partners and funders including Creative NJ, the NJ State Council on the Arts, ArtPride NJ, Advocates for NJ History, PNC Bank and New Jersey Community Capital.

The event will include a tour of the Hammonton Arts District (weather permitting) and/or a tour of the exhibit located within the Art Gallery at Kramer Hall which honors the various historic industries of Hammonton. This exhibit is a collaboration between Stockton University and the Noyes Museum of Art.

South Jersey Cultural Alliance (SJCA), a nonprofit membership organization, serves over 100 regional arts and history organizations in South Jersey. SJCA strengthens members by providing marketing and promotion, professional development, information, resources and advocacy.

The group sees the move to Kramer Hall as helping to align its efforts with those of other non-profit agencies, businesses and educational institutions which focus on the promotion of arts, history and culture of South Jersey.

President Kesselman initiated the collaborative effort between Stockton and SJCA at the Noyes Museum’s annual gala in October 2015 and will give welcoming remarks at the event.

“SJCA is delighted to be part of Hammonton’s creative community. With a growing arts district, two co-op artists spaces, the Noyes Museum, the Eagle Theatre, a Main Street Third Thursday, a makerspace and extraordinary culinary opportunities, SJCA fits right in,” said Karen Pinzolo, executive director.  “With SJCA’s new affiliation with Stockton University, we are looking forward to new synergies to strengthen our community in Hammonton as well as the entire southern New Jersey region.”

Hammonton officials will lead the SJCA in cutting the ribbon on its new offices, while Ben Ott, president of the Hammonton Revitalization Corporation, will accept a $1,000 check for Main Street Hammonton. The gift helps to kick off Main Street Hammonton’s fundraising campaign for a piazza that would be used for its new NJ Fringe Festival and arts activities year-round, especially on Third Thursdays. 

“The officials and people of Hammonton and Stockton University have been gracious hosts.  We look forward to working together to improve the quality of life of southern New Jersey through art, history and culture,”   said Tim Hart, president of the SJCA Board of Trustees. “Our relationship with Stockton University is key to the sustainable future of SJCA.” 

"Having SJCA located within Kramer Hall provides us with boundless opportunities to collaborate with Stockton faculty and students, as well as the diverse group of community partners we have cultivated throughout the Town of Hammonton,” said Eileen Conran-Folks, director.

 “We hope to create a partnership with SJCA which will allow us to expand our lecture series and seminars related to the arts. In addition, we hope to create internships for our students studying in the Arts and Humanities," she added. Stockton faculty and staff will be able to participate in workshops and other seminars that SJCA sponsors to celebrate South Jersey’s arts and culture.

Kramer Hall also serves as the Hammonton site for the South Jersey Culture & History Center at Stockton University, (SJCHC) led by Director Tom Kinsella, a Stockton professor.

"The SJCHC looks forward to working with SJCA to engage Stockton students and local community members in South Jersey’s rich cultural heritage," said Kinsella.

The SJCA’s annual meeting is set for Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. at Kramer Hall in Hammonton. Members and potential members are invited to an open board meeting to vote in new officers and learn about new programmatic directions.