This plenary brings together regional leaders from Mural Arts Philadelphia, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Artworks Trenton, Newark Arts, and Camden FireWorks, whose work demonstrates that art and culture are not peripheral to public life, but are, in fact, constitutive of it. From large-scale mural initiatives and citywide arts advocacy to arts-and-wellness programming and neighborhood-based creative placemaking, the panelists will explore how cultural institutions function in systems of care that respond to the needs of individuals and communities alike. Grounded in the Summit’s theme of Community, Culture & Care, this session will show how artists move beyond programming toward long-term cultural production and stewardship while building resilient cities where creativity serves the public good.

This session explores how artists, nonprofits, and higher education institutions function as civic infrastructure using creativity not simply to create programming, but also strategically to promote community care, economic vitality, identity-building, and belonging. Drawing from grassroots activism in Camden, Newark, and Atlantic City, socially engaged artistic practice, and Stockton’s academic leadership, the conversation will examine how artistic ecosystems can move beyond cultural events to sustain cultural stewardship. The discussion will focus on how creative placemaking becomes a form of care while supporting neighborhoods, empowering artists, and positioning universities as anchor institutions within regional cultural networks.

This breakout session will explore how arts organizations, artists, and institutional partners are redefining public health and community care through creative practice. Drawing on NJPAC’s work at the intersection of the arts, health, and healing; Camden-based artist Eric Montgomery’s community-grounded practice; and Michael Chovan-Dalton’s cultural leadership perspective, this session will examine how art functions as preventative care, trauma response, neighborhood stabilization, and social connection. The panelists will show how cultural programming can intentionally support mental health, civic belonging, intergenerational healing, and long-term community resilience.

Framed within the Summit’s theme of Culture, Community & Care, this session will consider how public art serves as both creative and communal expression. Our panelists, working artists, alongside leadership from Newark Arts, will examine how murals, installations, and socially engaged practices transform public spaces into platforms for storytelling, representation, and community dialogue.
 

This interactive session explores the musical lineage of hip hop and its deep roots in earlier Black musical traditions, including Jazz, Gospel, Disco, Soul, and Rhythm and Blues. Rather than emerging suddenly in the late twentieth century, hip hop developed from a long continuum of Black musical innovation that emphasized rhythm, improvisation, storytelling, and community participation.

Through guided listening, discussion, and brief demonstrations, participants will trace how elements such as jazz improvisation, gospel call-and-response, soul’s emotional expression, and disco’s dance rhythms shaped hip hop’s sound and performance style. The session will also incorporate audience participation through call-and-response exercises and musical examples, illustrating how these participatory traditions remain central to hip hop culture. Together, participants will experience how hip hop reflects a living continuum of Black musical creativity.