RED BANK — The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Park Service announced $1,067,500 in support of 50 grants in 27 states, including an award of $20,000 to Monmouth Arts to welcome and involve diverse communities through an array of participatory visual and performing arts and family activities that highlight the environment, history and beauty of Fort Hancock.
“Imagine Your Parks” is a grant initiative from the NEA created in partnership with the National Park Service to support projects that use the arts to engage people with memorable places and landscapes of the national park system.
“As part of the NEA’s 50th anniversary, this year we are celebrating the magnificence of America’s national cultural treasures through art,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The ‘Imagine Your Parks’ grant program unites our mission with the National Park Service by connecting art projects with the natural, historic and cultural settings of the National Park System and will inspire a new generation to discover these special places and experience our great heritage.”
“This is an exciting project that will bring together environmental artists and environmental groups to create public art from garbage collected by Clean Ocean Action at their beach sweeps to highlight the problem of waste in our national parks,” said Monmouth Arts Executive Director Mary Eileen Fouratt. “With the final Zero Waste Arts Fest in September, we look forward to inviting Monmouth County residents and visitors to experience the arts, environment and historical treasures available out at Fort Hancock.”
Monmouth Arts will collaborate with the U.S. National Park Service, Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, on “Gateway to the Arts” to engage the public in their local urban national park through the visual and performing arts. A summer installation of temporary public art, pairing artists with environmental groups at several park locations, will lead up to a two-day Zero Waste Arts Fest.
Zero Waste Arts Fest will engage diverse communities through an array of arts, environmental and historical education activities, games and camping. The Fest will be zero-waste as one artist will create a growing sculpture using recycled refuse amassed during the two days — making a statement piece on waste and individual responsibility. For more information, visit www.monmoutharts.org.
