JERSEYARTS.COM INVITES THE PUBLIC TO VOTE FOR THEIR FAVORITE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY:

Not all voting ended in November! JerseyArts.com invites the public to vote for their favorite nonprofit arts groups in its second annual People’s Choice Awards. The categories range from theater and performing arts center, to museum and gallery, to symphony and dance company (along with many more – there are 15 in all). The Jersey Arts Marketers (JAM), a regional network of cultural institutions throughout the state, nominated their peers for the online poll with the provision that they could not nominate themselves. Those receiving the highest number of nominations in each category made it onto the final list and public vote will determine the winners.

The online poll is not considered scientific nor does it intend to make any evaluations as to artistic excellence, instead it is designed to give the public a voice in determining the most popular arts institutions in New Jersey. Jim Atkinson, Program Manager for Discover Jersey Arts, the project charged with coordinating the awards, explains, “We’re not calling these ‘Best Of’ awards, that carries with it a certain connotation of comparing the artistic quality of one arts group with another. Instead we're calling them ‘People’s Choice’, because ultimately these are the public’s favorite organizations.”

Arts organizations are taking the voting seriously however, doing what they can to garner the bragging rights that will go along with winning. Organizations are using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media, posting messages to websites and emailing their patrons, even making pleas at performances for their audiences to get out and vote. “It’s all in good fun,” says Ed Kirchdoerffer, Director of Marketing at The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown, one of those nominated in the Favorite Performing Arts Center category. “Still, we would love to win bragging rights and intend on getting our audiences behind us.” Kelly Ryman, Director of Marketing at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, winner of the Favorite (Professional) Theater category in 2008 adds, “We’re all about defending our title this year, and we know how competitive the Theater category will be for 2009. It’s all about getting our audience motivated to vote for us again this year – it means a lot to us.”

The public has until midnight, January 19, 2010 to cast their ballot. Five lucky voters will be selected at random to receive the items of their choice from the JerseyArts.com Online Store – the place for gear to show off your inner arts geek. Winners will be announced on JerseyArts.com on January 28, 2010.

JerseyArts.com is the official website of Discover Jersey Arts, a cosponsored project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and ArtPride New Jersey Foundation. The site provides a comprehensive cultural event calendar, online arts directory, podcast, membership program, and a variety of other resources aimed at increasing the awareness of and participation in the arts in New Jersey.

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ABOUT DISCOVER JERSEY ARTS

Discover Jersey Arts (DJA) is a cosponsored project of the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts  working in partnership with other cultural service organizations statewide including the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, South Jersey Cultural Alliance, New Jersey Network and New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. The project’s mission is to increase the awareness of and participation in the arts in New Jersey.  JerseyArts.com supports this mission by providing a central clearinghouse of information on New Jersey’s cultural scene.
Since its launch in the summer of 2000 following more than two years of research and development into assessing the needs of its constituents, DJA has developed a wide variety of programs and initiatives to support our state’s cultural community while providing resources to the public.  For more information visit DJA on the web at http://www.jerseyarts.com.