History
Collaborative Arts is currently undergoing a tremendous operating overhaul. You may find certain pages on our website undergoing construction as we further define our image and our leadership.
From its initial inception in 2006, as the Lab Theater, a student organization of Rutgers, the leadership of Collaborative Arts has been committed to a vision to serve the New Brunswick community by providing support to young or emerging artists who are producing investigative and risk-taking work that stretches the forms of creative writing, dance, music, theater and visual arts. What began as a group of individuals dedicated to developing their craft as artists and finding their voice, has expanded into a collective that believes that in order to bring artistic creations to the public eye, they must build up an entire community of creativity.Fully dedicated to the idea that culture is fostered by a partnership between artists and communities, coLAB Arts was founded in 2007, as a New Jersey nonprofit organization by its incorporators, Christa Cillaroto, Jorge Fiffe, Philippe Garcesto, Matt Gugel, and Dan Swern. Having internalized the importance of cultivating the creative process for ‘unproven’ artists, coLAB Arts is steadfast to adhering to a programmatic philosophy and approach of providing artist with adequate resources to physical space, technical and administrative support, and financial assistance to produce and present their work. By serving in the capacity of finding solutions for artists, coLAB Arts is able to center its work on partnering with communities to increase opportunities to learn, advancement and exhibition of forward thinking practice in the arts, and expanding public access to thought-provoking work produced through creative activity.
Mission Statement
Collaborative Arts’ mission is to cultivate a hip, mindful, and inclusive Hub City community of artists, audiences, and critics empowered to create inspired and inspiring art.
coLAB Arts’ work centers on three major objectives:
- Provide support for the creation and development of enriching and culturally diverse programs by artists working in varied and inter-disciplinary genres
- Collaboration with communities in creating opportunities that foster positive promotion of arts programming
- Expand public access to art and art education programs
