Mission

Perkins Center for the Arts enriches lives, inspires life-long learning, and cultivates intercultural experiences through the Arts.

Vision

All communities thriving through the Arts.

Values

• We value access to the Arts as an inalienable human right
• We value diversity, equity, and inclusivity
• We value a culture of integrity, respect, and humanity
• We value artists, teaching artistry, and professional arts practice
• We value the importance of physical, emotional, financial, and geographic arts accessibility
• We value the joy and inherent learning that is derived from visual, performing, and literary art-making
• We value the outcomes derived from the collaboration of communities and artists to cultivate artistic opportunities
• We value the Arts as essential to the social and emotional well-being of individuals and their communities .
• We value the Arts as a safe platform for personal expression and healing, helping to amplify voices.

Perkins Center for the Arts is a regional, community cultural asset that enriches lives, inspires life-long learning, and offers interdisciplinary and intercultural experiences through the arts. Established as an arts education institution, Perkins is dedicated to providing exemplary arts experiences for all community members within the Perkins’ programs include comprehensive musical instruction through the Perkins Conservatory of Music; year-round visual & performing arts instruction; 18-22 exhibitions annually; free public concerts and ticketed concert series’; artist-led in-school residency programs; Summer Arts Camp; Perkins Folklife Center; and community enrichment projects throughout South Jersey.

Perkins Center for the Arts is recognized by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a Major Presenting Organization for free and fee-based arts programs that promote participation, understanding, and communication among diverse audiences. Perkins Center is overseen by a dedicated Board of Trustees and is managed by a professional staff of arts administrators.

Since its 1977 incorporation in Moorestown, Perkins Center has expanded from a local, community arts center to a regional arts center presenting programs that support and expand relationships with artists, students, members and audiences in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester Counties and the greater South Jersey and Delaware Valley region.

Originally established in the Perkins family manor at 395 Kings Highway in Moorestown (an historic, 1910 Tudor home and carriage house), in 2002 the Center expanded to a second facility in Collingswood, NJ at 30 Irvin Avenue (another historic, 1910 modern-industrial style building). This location has enabled Perkins to expand programming and extend services throughout Camden County.