The Muse Collaborative is a young organization that’s intimately bound to the city and people that birthed it: Camden, NJ. Our grand vision is to see a Camden revered for its people, culture, and artistic merit and will get there by promoting excellence in, expression through, and appreciation for the hip-hop arts. We intend to become a prominent advocate for cultural participation and creativity while attesting to the importance of relationships, diversity, and respect within our community and across society.
All of our programs are designed to affirm the worth and value of individuals and hip-hop at large. Over time, we hope to support our community’s connection to the deep tradition of activism, empowerment, and identity building set forth by arts like the blues, jazz, and the other cultural roots hip-hop was born of. While most organizations define their plans and programs before their stakeholders and beneficiaries get a look at them, we actively include Camden residents at every stage of development. From the moment we begin planning to the point of formal, public review, The Muse Collaborative tries to work in ways our community is proud of. Inclusive decision making holds us accountable to the public, and our programs and policies directly benefit when they’re influenced by the wisdom and expertise of our community.
Our Guiding Values
Community is the real and dirty stuff of interconnected relationships, whether intentional or incidental, where individuals establish connections and craft belonging. Community is intimacy, sharing, and collaboration.
Creativity springs from internalized freedom and begets both purpose and value. Through necessity, we learn to live; through creativity, we become. Creativity, although complex, does not mean complexity and it doesn’t have to be ‘good’ in some aesthetic sense. The difficult thing about creativity is that tightly defining it limits it; sometimes it’s the out-of-tune notes that make a song what it is. Creativity also means The Muse Collaborative doesn’t censor artists.
Respect is an active choice that puts action to our inner values. It paints our relationships with others and shapes the way we see ourselves. If we do not respect ourselves, we cannot fully seek reverence for others. Art can disturb or disgust, it can be grotesque or unnerving. And it can be respected for these (or other) traits. Respect means learning to appreciate what we do not like and to correctly honoring what we do.
Diversity is more than difference, it’s a celebration of that which isn’t like you, your history, or your surroundings. Hip-hop itself relies on cultures outside of its own scope; without difference and diversity, the art of the sample would be dead.
Recent News
We are seeking a part-time program coordinator for educational youth programming and our VINYL Discussion Series. Candidates for the position should be driven, deeply committed to the people of Camden City, and comfortable working in a flexible environment. Primary Responsibilities include: Lead after-school programs and summer camp sessions for youth in K–12 settings ,facilitate evening discussions based around hip-hop albums, culture, and experience, develop hip-hop centric curriculum focused on literacy, histo […]
The Muse Collaborative is looking for volunteers to help develop and expand our use of social media. Volunteers will compose posts, grow our audience, assist in developing an outreach strategy, and create tools for future volunteers. Individuals interested in this opportunity should have strong communication skills, experience with photography, image editing, and Google Drive, and a love of hip-hop arts and culture. Volunteers must be familiar and skilled with our primary social media outlets: Primary Platforms ·» Facebook ·» Twitter ·» Instagram Secondary Platforms ·» Youtube ·» Vimeo ·» Soundcloud Volunteers are asked to commit to a set amount of time every week for the duration of their service and are expected to volunteer for at least two months. We also ask that individuals attend […]