CNBNews

Prudential Financial and Mellon Foundation gifted $2M and $750,000 to the historic performing arts venue. 

NEWARK, N.J. (Aug. 30, 2022)- Continuing an upward trajectory for the 1920s-era performing arts center as it approaches a century of existence, Newark Symphony Hall (NSH) announced it had received a combined $2.75 million 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 long-time partner," said Nicole Butler, vice president of inclusive solutions, 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. In addition, 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 Mellon, the nation's leading funders of the arts, enables 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 Newark's rich legacy and creativity." 

Mellon's grant will support three years of staffing for a director, manager, and coordinator. In nearly two decades, this will be the first time that the multi-functional 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. 

NSH's President and CEO Taneshia Nash Laird reports a significant 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 notes: "After piloting several 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."  

The funding arrives as the venue has had a series of operational successes, including becoming an in-demand alternative location for film and television productions. For example, in 2021, USA Network's "America's a big deal" series was broadcast live from NSH for the entire season. The Hulu drama series "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" transformed spaces in the 145,000-square-foot complexes for two show episodes during the pandemic, including one directed by Hollywood filmmaker Mario Van Peebles.  

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

ABOUT NEWARK SYMPHONY HALL (NSH) 

Born in 1925, Newark Symphony Hall (NSH) has been home to almost a century of arts and culture in what is now one of New Jersey's oldest and most influential arts and entertainment venues. NSH remains as committed as ever to providing an artistically rich experience for art lovers of all ages while creating career pathways for people of color and bettering its community and Greater Newark. For more information, visit NewarkSymphonyHall.org.   

ABOUT PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC. 

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a global financial services leader and premier active global investment manager with more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2021, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help improve lives by creating financial opportunities for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise, and innovation for over a century. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com. 

ABOUT THE MELLON FOUNDATION 

The Mellon Foundation is the nation's most prominent supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. Moreover, the Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex society and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.