SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange Performing Arts Center had been nominated for Favorite Small Performing Arts Center in the 2017 JerseyArts.com People’s Choice Awards. SOMA Film Festival, co-produced by SOPAC, is nominated for Favorite Film Festival. Now in its ninth year, the annual awards program run by Discover Jersey Arts pays tribute to the work of New Jersey’s vital, vibrant and diverse arts organizations. With the ballots now prepped, it’s time for arts lovers across the state to vote for their favorite local arts organizations.
“SOPAC is incredibly grateful for this nomination as Favorite Small Performing Arts Center,” Dee Billia, SOPAC’s director of external relations, said in a press release. “We’re honored to be recognized by our fellow colleagues, and to be a part of such a strong arts community that drives one another to thrive. We are also thrilled that the SOMA Film Festival has been nominated. We hope our patrons will also support us by voting in this year’s awards.”
SOPAC, the SOMA Film Festival and the other contenders in the 2017 People’s Choice Awards were nominated by their peers through the Jersey Arts Marketers network, which is made up of hundreds of arts groups across the state. A record-breaking number of nomination ballots were cast and now 11 arts districts and nearly 100 organizations will compete in 16 categories, including favorite performing arts center, dance company, art gallery, choral group and more.
“It’s great to see so many nominations come in from organizations all over the state, allowing groups large and small to be acknowledged for the wonderful work they are doing,” Nick Paleologos, executive director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, said in the release.
Adam Perle, president and CEO of ArtPride New Jersey, which cosponsors the Discover Jersey Arts program with the Council, agreed, saying: “The quality of art we have in New Jersey is increasing thanks to our rich and vibrant cultural community working together to build each other up.”
Public voting runs through Feb. 16. Winners will be announced and honored in March at the New Jersey Conference on Tourism in Atlantic City.
For a full list of nominees and categories, visit www.JerseyArts.com/Vote.
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