| ABOUT US RCCA has been designated a "Major Arts Organization of New Jersey" by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State. OUR MISSION To provide performances, exhibitions, education programs, and community projects, that inspire a full appreciation and enjoyment of the arts, create meaningful opportunities to participate in the arts, advance the central role of the arts in preK-12 education, and increase awareness of the arts as essential to cultural, economic, and community vitality. Founded in 1976, Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts (RCCA) is a multi-venue arts institution located on the Camden, NJ waterfront which produces and presents year-round programs in the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Arts Education. RCCA is a " Center of Excellence" on the Camden campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - a land-grant institution with a mission of research, teaching, and public service. In keeping with its public mission, the RCCA endeavors to: • Communicate the authentic artistic expressions of the many cultures that enrich American life, with special emphasis on those reflecting the cultural communities of Camden County and the Delaware Valley region. • To convey the critical insights, high aesthetic standards, and innovative approaches in the work of established and emerging artists in the region, across the nation, and around the world. • To investigate the profusion of complex links between the arts and other humanistic disciplines and endeavors. • To develop exemplary methods for fulfilling the arts curriculum in preK-12 education and for engaging lifelong participation in the arts. • To illuminate the nature of the creative process and the evolving role of art and artists in society. RCCA's three main venues - the Walter K. Gordon Theater, Stedman Gallery, and Black Box Studio, serve as focal points for the visual and performing arts in the region from international touring artists and companies to local theater and student-derived works. RCCA's certified Educators design and provide research- and curricular-based Arts Education programs for the region's preK-12 schools, as well as after-school and summer programs in the City of Camden. Arts Education programs include in-classroom artist workshops and on-site performances and educational activities. RCCA's cutting-edge Distance Learning (D'Arts) program utilizes high-speed broadband to videocast curricular-based Arts Education classes to classrooms throughout the region and across the nation. RCCA further partners with organizations throughout Camden City to conduct Community Arts programs that enhance the urban environment and strengthen community, including Camden Art Gardens, Camden Arts Ambassadors and other programs |