Team O'Dea's Policy for the Arts

In an effort to keep artists in Jersey City, effectively marking our footprint within the arts community, my administration will work to build a more art-friendly environment.

1. Provide Municipal housing programs for artists, like the West Beth Housing in New York City. This will be achieved by combining city land, targeted funding, and public-private partnerships. The housing sites could have studio space, possible community theaters, live music venue and a gallery opened to the public where residents could feature their work. 

2. Start a Percent-for-art program, a program that would require developers to fund public arts installations.

3. Re-vamp the Mural Arts Program. Housing sites with artist residencies would be commissioned to beautify their residency location.

4. Provide municipal maker spaces; possibly through educational spaces or developers community give-back programs. 

5. Working with the Housing Authority to implement Artist Residencies. These artist residencies would create a mentorship program between artists and the housing site they reside, strengthening neighborhood engagement and supporting emerging artists. 

6. Revamp the Public Arts Council, which will help steer the city’s arts culture. They would advise on the city’s funding of the arts, and which programs would be best. 

7. City will develop Youth centers that would focus on arts, operated by art-based non-profits. Will work with recreation and educational institutions to provide art-based programs, including free summer camps. 

8. Work with established artists and Jersey City Board of Education to provide a robust arts education curriculum. 

9. In an effort to prevent reliance on external cultural institutions at the expense of homegrown creativity, I will ensure funding for the arts and cultural development prioritizes local artists and art-based non-profits through protected funding streams, community consultation,  and equity standards. 

10. Supporting Professional Artists- Artists must be able to live and work with dignity. Sustaining our creative ecosystem requires policies that secure a living wage for artists, provide access to materials and dedicated spaces for creation, and support organizations that hire, mentor, and celebrate them. Public recognition and investment in artists’ well-being are essential to keeping the creative current flowing.

11.  Centering Community-Rooted Public Art-Public art should reflect and uplift the communities it inhabits. While bringing in artistic excellence from outside can inspire, equal—if not greater—emphasis must be placed on cultivating and showcasing the creativity of local artists. In our multicultural, multiethnic city, this also means intentionally engaging and honoring the artistic traditions of immigrant and diasporic communities that enrich our cultural landscape.