By ROBERT BAXTER
Courier-Post Staff

Jeffrey Kesper slipped into the seat next to me just as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts was beginning its annual meeting in Trenton.

Midway through Tuesday's program, I couldn't resist asking the council's former executive director if he noticed any changes since the 1980s when he ran the annual meetings. "No," he answered.

"Well, I do," I responded. "South Jersey is getting a lot more money."

When Kesper left the council a decade ago, South Jersey arts groups received $1.48 million in grants, a meager 13 percent of the council's funds. On Tuesday, they claimed $5 million, the full 25 percent of funding mandated by the Legislature.

That resulted from what council Chairman Leonard B. Fisher - quoting Bette Davis in All About Eve - called "a bumpy ride." The turbulence began in the spring after the Courier-Post published a series of articles exposing the council's funding inequities.

After legislative hearings, a constituency meeting hosted by the arts council and a funding summit sponsored by the Courier-Post, the Legislature stipulated that South Jersey arts groups must receive one-fourth of the council' s $20 million appropriation.

Council members, of course, will claim they have always been concerned with the needs of South Jersey. But until now, they haven't followed up with the necessary money and programs.

Following all the turmoil triggered by the arts funding series, Executive Director Barbara Russo and council members made a number of appearances in South Jersey.

Understandably, they were wary of the reception they would get. To their credit, Russo and her colleagues were gracious in their public appearances and were treated with the respect they deserve.

Russo and the council are giving South Jersey more than money. As Bruce Curless of the Ritz Theatre said, the council is hearing - not just listening to - the needs of South Jersey.

In their recent visits here, council members have discovered the vibrant energy that characterizes South Jersey's cultural life.

At the Ritz, Russo must have noticed Curless' company is a community resource that brings theater into the lives of people who don't otherwise see live theatrical performances.

Emerging groups like the Ritz are every bit as worthy of arts council support as such prestigious institutions as the McCarter Theatre and Paper Mill Playhouse.

At the annual meeting, there were clear signals the arts council may be getting the message. The council set aside $ 606,576 for regional initiatives that will find ways to provide the staff development and technical assistance needed by South Jersey groups that lack the infrastructure in place in North Jersey.

The upcoming year should give the council the chance to work even closer with arts leaders in the South.

Robert Baxter is the arts critic for the Courier-Post. He can be reached by telephone at (856) 486-2436 or by fax at ( 856) 663-2831 and by e-mail at rbaxter@courierpostonline. com.