Mercer County Community College (MCCC) and the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University announce selection of the inaugural Trenton Arts Fellow for 2026-27, Bentrice “Beni” Jusu, as well as finalist April Cooper. The new program is a collaboration between the two institutions to support artists in Trenton modeled on the Lewis Center’s other artist fellowship programs.
The Trenton Arts Fellow, who must live and work within the city of Trenton, New Jersey, receives a $10,000 stipend, of which up to half can be used for living expenses with the remainder for materials and research connected to their work. They also receive access to shared studio space in Trenton Hall on the MCCC James Kerney campus in Trenton from September 2026 through June 2027. In addition, the fellow will have access to both MCCC and Princeton University resources, and have the option to participate in workshops, public conversations, open studios, and/or exhibitions in an MCCC gallery space.
The program grew from conversations among Lewis Center and MCCC faculty and administrators as a way to recognize and support artists of exceptional promise in the capital city. Artworks Trenton, an anchor artists’ organization in the city, is also a collaborator.
The partners received 21 applications in November from visual artists in this first round of the program. Applicants submitted a resume, work samples, and a proposal for how they would spend the fellowship year, which included expectations for engagement with the local community. A committee of MCCC and Lewis Center faculty and staff reviewed the applications.
Inaugural Trenton Arts Fellow Bentrice “Beni” Jusu. Photo credit: Rachel Fawn Alban
“We are thrilled to welcome Bentrice and April to Trenton Hall,” said Lucas Kelly, dean of MCCC Arts and Communication, who chaired the committee. “The selection process was incredibly competitive, reflecting the remarkable depth of talent within Trenton’s arts community. This fellowship represents an exciting milestone for Mercer County Community College and our ongoing commitment to supporting local artists. Beyond financial support, we are proud to provide the time, space, resources, and professional opportunities that allow artists to develop their work and expand their careers. Through studio space, materials, mentorship, exhibitions, and community connections, we hope to foster an environment where these artists, and the broader Trenton arts community, can continue to thrive.”
“The partnership with MCCC has been very positive based on our shared interest in supporting the artist community in Trenton,” added Pam Lins, interim director of Princeton’s Program in Visual Arts. “We are super excited to be part of this program.”
In addition to Jusu, the committee also designated a finalist, April Cooper. As finalist, Cooper will receive a $2,500 stipend for materials and access to a MCCC Trenton Hall shared studio space.
Bentrice “Beni” Jusu is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and community architect whose work bridges public art, immersive technology, portraiture, and social practice. Through large-scale installations, augmented reality, sound-based experiences, and participatory murals, she builds layered creative ecosystems that honor memory while activating public dialogue.
A Kresge Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, and SOZO Fellow, Jusu’s work has been supported and featured by institutions including NPR, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Princeton University Preparatory Program. Works from her practice are held in permanent and private collections and have been recognized for their intersection of artistic innovation and community impact. The roots of her socially engaged practice began with Both Hands, an early initiative mobilizing art and dialogue around collective healing—an ethos that has since expanded into her flagship platform, The Potential Project. Now a multi-city social impact initiative, the project integrates archival portraiture, augmented reality, and community storytelling to explore grief, resilience, and civic repair.
Rooted in Trenton and working nationally, Jusu designs projects that function, as she describes, “as both artwork and infrastructure—creating participatory experiences that do more than hang on walls; they hold space, invite reflection, and reimagine collective futures.”
Inaugural Trenton Arts Fellow finalist April Cooper. Photo credit: Courtesy of April Cooper
The Listening Room: Trenton is the project she will undertake during her fellowship year. The project is an evolving, audio-poetic archive that amplifies the voices, memories, and daily music of Trenton residents. Over the ten months of the fellowship, she plans to transform the studio at MCCC’s Trenton campus into a working sound lab—a place where storytelling, field recording, and reflection meet. Through guided interviews, ambient recordings, and spoken-word composition, she anticipates expanding her ongoing audio chapbook, The Potential Project, into a localized installation that invites community participation and deep listening.
Finalist April Cooper, known online as Art by April, is an emerging contemporary artist based in Trenton. She works primarily in oil painting, and her practice centers, documents, and explores Black life, community, and cultural preservation through figurative painting, as well as by capturing social gatherings, positioning lived experience as part of the historical record. She notes that she uses painting as a way to slow down and honor moments that are often overlooked or undocumented and strives to present positive experiences, as well as how Black people should be represented in media and to present Black life as full, layered, and worthy of preservation. Describing her work as rooted in lived experience, she considers community as an ecosystem sustained by presence, care, and shared space. Cooper’s work has been exhibited in galleries, museums and community spaces throughout New Jersey.
During the fellowship period, Cooper plans to create a series of figurative paintings showing Black social spaces in and around New Jersey. The project will focus on observing Black presence and everyday joy. The work will serve as an initial development phase of a larger body of work “centered on social sustainability with Black culture as the blueprint.”
The Trenton Arts Fellowship application will reopen in the fall for applications for the 2027-28 cycle. In addition, the Trenton community will have opportunities for public engagement with the newly announced fellow and finalist during the 2026-27 academic year.
Visit the Trenton Arts Fellowship webpage to learn more about the fellowship program.
About Mercer County Community College
Established in 1966, Mercer County Community College is a publicly supported comprehensive institution that provides opportunities for higher education through an open-door admission policy. The scenic 292-acre West Windsor Campus was opened in 1972 to serve the needs of Mercer County residents. MCCC’s James Kerney Campus, located in downtown Trenton, serves as an educational and cultural hub for city residents that meets the challenging needs of thousands of students and community members seeking educational fulfillment and personal and career growth. The MCCC President is Deborah E. Preston, PhD. Visit the MCCC website for more information.
About the Lewis Center for the Arts
The Lewis Center for the Arts encompasses Princeton University’s academic programs in creative writing, dance, theater and music theater, and visual arts, as well as the interdisciplinary Princeton Atelier. Over 100 diverse public events are offered each year, most of them free or at a nominal ticket price. The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of alumni and other donors. For more information, please visit the Lewis Center website.
