Trenton, NJ — March 19, 2025
Following the overwhelming success of last year’s community-driven logo contest, 120 East State is thrilled to announce its next creative initiative — the 120 East State Music Video Contest, designed to spotlight vibrant musical talent and spark imaginative visions of the city’s future.
“Last year, we tapped into the incredible talent of our visual artists,” said Molly Dykstra, Project Leader. “This year, we’re inviting musicians, videographers, and storytellers to envision what the future of our city looks like — and share it through music and film.”
The 120 East State Music Video Contest challenges artists to create a compelling 3-minute music video exploring the theme of envisioning what a vibrant, thriving future looks like for the city of Trenton. Through music and video, we want you to tell a story of hope, possibility, and transformation — highlighting the people, places, dreams, and ideas that can shape a better tomorrow for our city.
We encourage submissions that are creative, uplifting, and visionary. This is your opportunity to shine a light on the future you believe Trenton deserves — through your lyrics, sound, visuals, and storytelling. Whether your video is poetic, powerful, celebratory, experimental, or community-centered — we want to see your unique perspective on where Trenton is headed, and share it with the broader community.
Submissions will be judged across three categories:
- The People’s Choice Award, chosen by public vote
- The Artist’s Choice Award, selected by a panel of judges from Trenton’s arts community
- The Board’s Choice Award, chosen by members of the 120 East State Board
Thanks to the generosity of a community benefactor, cash prizes will be awarded to each first place winner. In addition, all winning videos will be featured on 120 East State’s website, digital channels, and YouTube platform, providing broad exposure and celebration of participants’ talent.
This year’s music video contest builds upon the momentum of last year’s logo competition, which proved to be a major success by every measure:
- Nearly 600 community members cast votes for their favorite logo design
- Our Instagram profile engagement soared, with over 11,000 new impressions
- And most importantly, a dynamic new logo was selected, which continues to proudly represent the project
The contest is part of 120 East State’s Steeple Center Project, an initiative to transform the First Presbyterian Church into a community center for arts, culture, education, and economic development. The organization’s efforts are backed by a mission to cultivate creativity, elevate local voices, and reimagine possibilities for Trenton’s future.
Full contest details, submission guidelines, and promotional materials will be released on March 21, 2025. Interested artists are encouraged to follow @120EastState on social media and check their email for updates.
For media inquiries or sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
Molly Dykstra
hello@120eaststate.org
609-222-4246
