Arts + Creative Placemaking
Arts + Creative Placemaking
Clinton Hill has always been a creative community. We’re making sure the whole world knows it. We’re working to engage 5,000 residents in opportunities to experience joy and make positive memories right here in the neighborhood — through arts programming, youth engagement, and a bold vision for Clinton Hill as an arts and culture destination.
We do this work three ways: through Community Arts Programming that activates the neighborhood, Youth in Arts that lifts up the next generation of creatives, and Creative Placemaking that positions Clinton Hill as the arts and culture community it has always been.
The Work
Community Arts Programming - The Culture is Here
Clinton Hill has artists. We’re making sure they get their flowers. artsXchange is our collaboration with NJPAC to plan and host bi-monthly arts events and activities that highlight local talent, activate strategic spaces across the neighborhood, and connect residents to the rich arts programming that already exists here. This is not art imported from somewhere else. This is Clinton Hill, showing out for itself.
Youth in Arts - Young Voices, Big Stages
Every young person has something to say. The Dodge Youth Poetry Club gives them the skills, the space, and the stage to say it. We engage young adults from the community in the art of poetry, train them to find and share their voice, and connect them to one of the most prestigious poetry festivals in the country — the Dodge Poetry Festival. Because Clinton Hill’s stories deserve to be heard everywhere.
Creative Placemaking - Clinton Hill on the Map
This is the neighborhood deciding what it wants to be. Our Creative Placemaking Planning Process brings residents and partners together to position Clinton Hill as an arts and culture community — one that honors its legacy and charts a bold path forward. We’re lifting up the contributions this neighborhood has always made to arts and culture and making sure that history is the foundation for everything we build next.
Clinton Ave has always had energy. We’re giving it a stage. In collaboration with the South Ward Special Improvement District, we’re developing a plan to establish Clinton Ave as a full arts and entertainment district — bringing together residents, businesses, faith-based organizations, and partners to create regular programming along the Hawthorne Ave, Bergen Street, and Clinton Ave corridors. The culture has always been here. Now we’re making it official.
The people who love this neighborhood most are the ones shaping its cultural future. The Arts & Creative Placemaking Action Team brings together residents and stakeholders to review, strengthen, and advance the arts programming and direct actions that highlight Clinton Hill’s rich contributions to arts and culture. This is the community setting the creative agenda — and making sure it stays rooted in who we are.
Art changes neighborhoods. Our Arts & Creative Placemaking Advocates know that firsthand. We recruit and train residents to become informed voices on the impact of arts and culture on economic development and community well-being. These are your neighbors, showing up at meetings, forums, and wherever decisions are being made — making the case that investing in arts and culture is investing in Clinton Hill’s future.
