Play the part of a lifetime: You.

NJPAC’s education initiative, kicked off before the Newark campus was built, is now one of New Jersey’s largest providers of arts education programs for children, annually reaching almost 100,000 students (from Pre-K to Grade 12), teachers and families. Thousands of New Jersey kids who experience world-class performances on Arts Center stages go on to classes where they can study dance, jazz, acting, musical theater, hip hop arts and culture, and more — either in our Center for Arts Education, or in classes taught by NJPAC teaching artists at schools around the state. NJPAC’s professional development opportunities for teachers — classes and workshops through which classroom teachers strengthen their skills in multiple areas like choreographing a school musical, creating an original play or playing the recorder — have added exponentially to the arts education offerings at Greater Newark schools and surrounding areas.

Introducing The Colton Institute
NJPAC’s Arts Education program has amplified student voices for decades. Now, we’re taking it to the next level with our exciting new initiative, The Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts. The Colton Institute develops creative kids, teens and young adults through Saturday classes, summer camps, coaching, career mentorship and professional performance opportunities. The Colton Institute also develops creative arts educators with leading-edge training for school districts, teachers and NJPAC faculty. All of this combines with dynamic research and innovation to serve as a national model for what 21st century arts education can be.

events & Series

jazz in the stacks

Enjoy a performance by TD Jazz for Teens at local Newark Public Libraries! The ensemble will perform at various locations where you can peruse the books while enjoying these talented young artists.

programs

Spring

TD Jazz for Teens

Dates:
Jan 25 – May 17 (Spring)
Time: 10AM – 3PM (schedules vary)
Ages: 13 – 18
Location: Center for Arts Education, NJPAC
Tuition: $700

Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

Acting

Dates:
Jan 25 – May 17 (Spring)
Time: 10AM – 3PM
Ages: 9 – 18
Location: Center for Arts Education, NJPAC
Tuition: $600

Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

Musical Theater

Dates:
Jan 25 – May 17 (Spring)
Time: 10AM3PM
Ages: 9-18
Location: Center for Arts Education, NJPAC
Tuition: $600

Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

Hip Hop Arts & Culture

Dates:
Jan 25 – May 17 (Spring)
Time:
10AM – 3PM
Ages: 10 – 18
Location: Center for Arts Education, NJPAC
Tuition:
$600

Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

Backstage Pathways

registration closed

Ages: 14 – 18
Location: Center for Arts Education, NJPAC
Tuition: $500

Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

Summer

Creativity on the Grand Stage!

Dates: Jul 8 – Aug 9

Colton Institute for
Training and Research in the Arts

summer creative arts camp

Dates: Jul 8 – Aug 9

Colton Institute for
Training and Research in the Arts

city verses: amplifying new voices through jazz and poetry

free add ons

In The Mix

IN THE MIX is a student driven program when students across programs talk about what’s going on in your lives and around the world. Explore the issues that matter to you, from climate change to social justice. Make friends, make art, and make a difference!

Creative Coaching

Find out the difference a mentor makes! Be creative and unstoppable with this program that provides guidance and development.

professional opportunities

brick city bookings

Want performance experience? Arts Education students and alumni can audition for Brick City Bookings (BCB), NJPAC’s roster of talented artists who are hired for events in the tri-state area. If you’re interested in being considered for Brick City Bookings please contact Randal Croudy for an audition.

Be a part of NJPAC’s legendary Performing Arts Programs, part of the Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts. This dynamic initiative supports and advances NJPAC’s Arts Education programs including our best-in-class hip hop, jazz, theater classes, and more

Registered students can enjoy:

  • Community Meeting: Daily social check-in with your classmates (included as part of your class time).
  • In The Mix: A student-driven, collaborative and multidisciplinary program with a civic engagement focus. It’s a safe space for students to discuss and produce art as activism while building their social and emotional skills (free add-on).
  • Creative Coaching: One-on-one mentorship with a professional NJPAC teaching artist (free add-on).

Parents and guardians are invited to participate in our parent committee:

  • NJPAC Arts Education offers families an opportunity to strategize with a collective of parents, guardians and caregivers and assist in the development of activities that nurture their child’s development, showcase teaching artists and build community at the Center for Arts Education.

Tuition must be paid in full or a payment plan must be in place prior to the first session.

If a student withdraws prior to the start of the first session, a full refund will be issued.

If a student withdraws after attending the second session, a 50% refund will be issued.

If a student withdraws after attending three sessions, all tuition payments are non-refundable.

*Important* If a student is absent for the first two sessions without any communication or advance notification, they will be automatically withdrawn from the program and the full tuition payment will be forfeited. This allows for additional students to join the program from the waitlist.

No student is turned away for financial needs. 10% sibling program discount. All programs take place at NJPAC’s Center of Arts Education, 24 Rector Street, Newark, NJ unless otherwise noted.

Your safety is our priority. Since the pandemic began, we’ve collaborated with medical professionals, invested in building upgrades, and put new procedures in place to protect our guests, staff, volunteers, and faculty. You can feel safe knowing our HVAC system meets industry standards for virus ionization and filtration and our cleaning processes follow all CDC recommendations. Further details on program protocols are here and specific details on procedures are shared upon completed registration and during program orientations.

This program is part of NJPAC’s Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts

The level of instruction and positive energy that each artist brought to their respective class was amazing.
Amanda and Matthew
parents of an NJPAC student

Sponsors

 

Major support for NJPAC Arts Education programs is provided by Judy and Stewart Colton, Toby and Leon Cooperman, Steven and Beverly Rubenstein Charitable Foundation, and The John Strangfeld and Mary Kay Strangfeld Foundation.

NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of our endowment donors: The Arts Education Endowment Fund in honor of Raymond C. Chambers, The Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, Toby and Leon Cooperman, Albert+ and Katharine Merck+, The Sagner Companies/The Sagner Family Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation.

Generous annual support for NJPAC Arts Education programs is provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., Jennifer A. Chalsty, Mimi and Edwin Feliciano, Don Katz & Leslie Larson, M&T Bank, McCrane Foundation, Inc., care of Margrit McCrane, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NJ Advance Media, NJM Insurance Group, Panasonic Foundation, PNC, Richmond County Savings Foundation, David & Marian Rocker, Santander, Turrell Fund, and an anonymous donor.

NJPAC Center for Arts Education

24 Rector Street
Newark, NJ 07102
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