Message from the Director 
Welcome to Appel Farm Arts and Music Center on the Web!
We appreciate your visit and hope you will spend a moment exploring our site to learn about us and see the many ways we are bringing exciting arts programs to the region.
Whether it's the concert series, summer camp, the annual arts & music festival, children's performances, community projects, classes for all ages or our unique facilities dedicated to creating and enjoying the arts, there is always something going on at Appel Farm!
The Center is located on 176 acres - nestled among fields, pastures, and woodlands, in one of the last remaining agricultural areas of New Jersey, yet it is only about half an hour from Philadelphia. It is truly a beautiful oasis in the exurban sprawl of the mid-Atlantic region.
In everything we do, we strive to provide a warm and supportive environment in which children and adults can enjoy, learn about, and participate in the worlds of creative expression. We believe strongly in responding to the interests and needs of our audiences and the community. While arts education is at the core of our programming, we also present an array of extraordinary singer/songwriters, as well as performances across many disciplines for children.
We believe that Appel Farm is a very special place. We hope your experience with us is an excellent one. Please return often and make Appel Farm your home for the arts in southern New Jersey!
Sincerely,
Mark Packer
Executive Director
P. S. We are always grateful to hear your feedback about this site and about Appel Farm. Please e-mail me your comments. Thank you!
Call(856) 358-2472 or email at camp@appelfarm.org for more infomation
History and Mission
Appel Farm was founded in 1960 as a private summer arts camp for children. Albert and Clare Appel, both professional musicians and music educators themselves, believed that the arts play a crucial role in developing a child's learning skills, encouraging personal growth, and instilling a sense of community and responsibility. They converted their 176-acre farm in rural Salem County, New Jersey, into a unique and supportive community of students, artists and art educators. Appel Farm Arts and Music Center was incorporated in 1978 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a professional staff and a volunteer Board of Trustees.
Now in its fifth decade, Appel Farm has evolved into a multidisciplinary regional arts center serving audiences, artists and students through local, regional, national and international programs. A steady commitment to facilities expansion and improvements has kept pace with our program growth, and has resulted in dedicated spaces and specialized equipment for visual arts, media and recording arts; music practice and ensemble spaces; dance studios; a theater and auxiliary facilities. The Center's unique, wood-fired noborigama kiln, built in collaboration with Perkins Center for the Arts in 2000, is at the center of a dynamic ceramics program and serves as a resource for professional artists and students alike. The Center's programs build on the Appels' founding principles, providing opportunities for arts education, arts appreciation and creative expression to more than 55,000 children and adults in the current year.
Appel Farm's mission is "to provide people of all ages, cultures and economic backgrounds with a supportive, cooperative environment in which to explore the fine and performing arts." The philosophy of the Center encompasses the belief that the arts are an exciting and essential part of the learning process, and that artistic talent is innate and waiting to be developed in every person.
The Center's primary objectives are:
- to present diverse year-round programs which enrich the cultural vitality of the region by serving the needs and interests of a vast rural community and rapidly expanding suburban community;
- to develop future artists and audiences by exposing young people to the arts process and the work of professional artists and arts educators;
- to provide opportunities and support for local, regional and national artists whose work stimulates, challenges and educates;
- to support artistic growth among cultural groups and organizations by providing an affordable facility that encourages creativity, arts activity and engagement.
Base of Support
Major funding for Appel Farm Arts and Music Center comes from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center's operation and programs are also supported by a broad and generous base of foundations, public agencies, corporations and individual supporters.
For the past eleven years, the NJSCA has conferred its highest honor on Appel Farm, designating it a Major Presenting and Arts Service Organization "in recognition of the solid history of artistic excellence, substantial programming and broad public service" and as an organization that "stands among a group of organizations across the state which comprise its anchor organizations that contribute vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey." The Center was also awarded a Citation of Excellence by the Council, a distinction given to organizations in New Jersey that "exhibit the highest standards of excellence in its artistry, operations, governance and public benefit." In 2005, Appel Farm was also honored to receive the Thomas H. Kean Partnership in Philanthropy Award from the statewide Partnership in Philanthropy non-profit advocacy organization.