The Makers and Music Fest in Camden a few weeks ago was by all accounts a rousing success. It was a joyous celebration of local visual and performing arts and a day for expressing neighborhood pride.
But at the center of the festivities there was a moment of bittersweet poignancy. A line of people formed, all holding flowers, all waiting their turn to speak. It wasn’t quite a eulogy, but it wasn’t far from one.
The subject was the same for each speaker – saying farewell to Asiyah Kurtz, the executive director of Camden FireWorks, the arts organization largely responsible for the festival.
“I came here three years ago and Asiyah gave me a chance,” said Brittany Anne Baum, an artist who has a gallery space inside Camden FireWorks. “The only studio I ever had (before that) was in my garage.”
Baum said Kurtz was also instrumental in furthering her career by securing grant funding and in helping with her most successful solo exhibition to date.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said, addressing Kurtz directly. “I love you and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”
ASIYAH KURTZ
When asked in a later interview why she was leaving the organization, Kurtz didn’t mince words.
“The recissions at the federal level from President Trump are really just killing the arts,” Kurtz said. “It’s just been really hard to feel like you’re doing good work and doing it from the right perspective, which is community-driven, and then to have your funding wiped away just at the stroke of a pen.”
Kurtz said considerable cuts to the organization’s budget have caused a slashing of salaries, including hers.
Due to the loss of funding, Kurtz will be exiting, leaving the organization seeking to fill her shoes.
Camden FireWorks is a nonprofit arts organization housed in a renovated firehouse in Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood. The space provides studio and gallery space for local artists as well as educational programming and events.
At the moment, Kurtz is still in the leadership role, and she was ready to celebrate the organization’s achievements – like last month’s festival.
“It was a huge success!” Kurtz said. “It was the first festival that we’ve had in that neighborhood that was specifically arts-focused – performing arts, visual arts.”
She said 500 meals were given away for free during the event, where 12 visual artists presented their work and 10 performing artists entertained the crowd.
Kurtz gave credit for the event’s success to everyone at FireWorks and all of the organizations they partnered with to bring it to life – singling out Vedra Chandler and The Heart of Camden organization.
Kurtz has been in the leadership role at FireWorks since 2020, and previously served as a council person for two terms in Haddon Heights
Despite her pending departure from the organization she said she hopes she can find other ways to stay connected to the arts community in Camden.
“I served as a politician. I am connected within the arts community. I know people up and down the state and throughout the region,” Kurtz said. “My next call to action is not necessarily serving as an executive within Camden FireWorks – but how am I able to connect resources outside of the city of Camden to the City of Camden using the relationships I’ve developed over the years.”
Kurtz said she is currently working on a transition plan with the FireWorks board and they hope to have a more permanent replacement in place by sometime in October.
But she also said she’s confident she’s leaving the group in very capable hands with the current staff remaining at the organization, and that despite the funding issues facing nonprofits like FireWorks, she’s able to remain hopeful for the future of Camden.
“I’m very hopeful,” Kurtz said. “I love Camden. I’m originally from Memphis and it feels really similar. It feels like home to me. The people are just regular people living regular lives and when they accept you, they truly accept you.”
Another speaker during the festival who stepped up to let Kurtz know just how much she was not only accepted, but appreciated, was local artist Celeste Rodriguez, who had to hold back tears to get through the speech she prepared for Kurtz.
“Ever since you became the director of Camden FireWorks, you have been a driving force for the arts in this community,” Rodriguez said to Kurtz. “Please know that you will be missed and that we are grateful for all of the opportunities you created. Thank you so much for all that you have done.”
Kurtz was visibly moved throughout the outpouring of support and said later she didn’t know anyone was planning to speak that day. She said she was thankful for their kind words letting her know her mission at Fireworks has been an important one.
“I had no idea!” she said. “I was totally surprised and I think I was more so delighted just by these folks who were lining up that were able to tell me how I changed their lives – these artists that I really care about. That was really wonderful.”