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Links to resources mentioned

Register for May 29 COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Update here

In an effort to simplify and fulfill MASSCreative’s mission to interpret arts & cultural policy into action, we bring you this weekly Policy & Action Review. Sign up to receive these updates at the start of the week.

Every Friday from 9:45-10am, the MASSCreative team hosts our COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Updates. These 15-minute updates are meant to provide you with what you need to know about COVID-19 policy advocacy and actions you can take to support the creative community. Check out MASSCreative’s May 8 Policy & Action Update Register for MASSCreative’s May 15 Policy & Action Update

On Capital Hill, talks are underway regarding the next COVID-19 federal aid package. The House is putting together a multitrillion-dollar proposal and the bill could be put on the House floor for a vote this week. While the House is pushing to finalize the bill under the increasing pressure of economic hardship, the White House and the Senate disagree over the pace and content of the next package. Right now, the roughly $3 trillion dollar House package includes urgent new spending for businesses, households, states and cities, among others. MASSCreative will update you as the bill progresses through Congress. Read more on the Next COVID-19 Federal Aid Package here

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston designed a survey in partnership with MASSCreative to ensure that artists and creative workers are getting the support they need. Take the 10-minute survey for MA Creative Workers + Artists by May 15 As more cities and towns discuss how to reopen the Massachusetts economy, we need to advocate for artists & arts and cultural leaders to be invited to the table. Sign up to Start & Share a Local Sign-on Letter

So mark your calendars for every Friday from 9:45-10am and look out for this Policy & Action Review in your inbox at the start of the week. If you’re looking for more COVID-19 resources, you can check out MASSCreative’s COVID-19 pages, including updates, resources, advocacy, policy recommendations, and policy & action updates.

From Politico Morning Shift 5.11.20:

DEMOCRATS PRESS AHEAD ON STIMULUS: Democrats will release, perhaps as early as this week, another coronavirus stimulus proposal that includes more than $750 billion in aid to state and local governments “as well as direct support to Americans,” Natalie Andrews reports in The Wall Street Journal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi worked through the weekend on the plan, Newsday’s Tom Brune reports, after extensive talks last week with the Democratic caucus and with committee chairs. The package “could cost upward of $2 trillion” and include hazard pay for frontline workers and funds for expanded testing and contract tracing, as POLITICO’s Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris, and John Bresnahan have reported.

“We put a marker down that follows the lead of other bipartisan legislation that has been passed, with increased funding,” Pelosi told C-SPAN Friday.

Congressional Republicans and the White House have signaled they’re not too eager about another stimulus bill, even after Friday’s jobs report showed unemployment to be higher than at any time since 1939. “We’re kind of paused as far as formal negotiations go,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, told reporters Friday. That same day, President Donald Trump said, “We’re in no rush.”

But by Sunday Kudlow was objecting on ABC’s “This Week” to weekend newspaper headlines claiming there had been no talks (he may have been thinking of this one from The Washington Post). He said that he and economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday held a bipartisan “conference call with about 50 House members,” and that a similar call with Senate Democrats and Republicans is scheduled for today. “It’s not that we’re not talking.,” Kudlow said. “We are. It’s just informal at this stage.”

Twenty-five artists will be awarded $1000 each for proposals that develop PSAs addressing topics related to the COVID-19 public health emergency and are culturally relevant to the marginalized communities NSCDC serves, especially LatinX and Spanish-speaking communities. Selection will prioritize applicants from marginalized backgrounds and artists who have lost opportunities due to the pandemic. Additionally, NSCDC is particularly interested in how they can distribute art outside of the digital sphere. Recognizing the divide in access to social media and other forms of online communication in marginalized communities, PSAs that are effective non-virtually will be of significant help in addressing the inequity of information. Interested applicants should visit puntourbanartmuseum.org/rfp/ for more information and submit their proposals by May 15th. 

MASSCreative applauds the unique opportunity NSCDC has created with this program, addressing both the economic needs of the creative sector and the public health concerns of marginalized communities. It is these types of efforts that demonstrate that arts and culture are not a luxury, but a vital and powerful tool in combating inequality and uplifting our community. In times of crisis, the arts matter more than ever.

Download the slide deck here

Links to resources mentioned

Register for May 22 COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Update here

We know there’s a lot of information and resources coming to you through email, social media, and the internet. In an effort to simplify and fulfill MASSCreative’s mission to interpret arts & cultural policy into action, we bring you this new weekly Policy & Action Review. Look out for these updates in your inbox at the start of your week.

Every Friday at 9:45-10am, Emily and I host MASSCreative’s COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Updates. These 15-minute updates are meant to provide you with what you need to know about COVID-19 policy advocacy and actions you can take to support the creative community. Check out MASSCreative’s May 1 Policy & Action Update Register for MASSCreative’s May 8 Policy & Action Update

Last week, Gov. Baker announced the formation a Reopening Advisory Board to guide the reopening of the MA economy. MASSCreative staff quickly mobilized to circulate a letter to arts & cultural leaders and individuals asking the Reopening Advisory Board to tap the talents and expertise of the creative community in forming their guidelines. The letter garnered 650+ signatures and was cited in a Boston Globe editorial calling for a broader group of diverse leaders to advise the board on reopening the MA economy, including the arts. Read the MASSCreative Letter to Gov. Baker and the Reopening Advisory Board Read the Boston Globe’s editorial ‘Baker advisory panel is just the first step’

As you know, media shapes public opinion and defines what is important. An easy way to share your point of view and quickly respond to the news is to write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper.   Check out MASSCreative’s Letter to the Editor templates Check out MASSCreative’s Tips to Writing a Letter to the Editor

So mark your calendars for every Friday from 9:45-10am and look out for this Policy & Action Review in your inbox at the start of the week. If you’re looking for more COVID-19 resources, you can check out MASSCreative’s COVID-19 pages, including updates, resources, advocacy, policy recommendations, and policy & action updates.

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FAQs

Register for May 15 COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Update here

To the MA Creative Community: 

I’m writing to let you know that I’ll be leaving MASSCreative at the end of June. 

As one of MASSCreative’s first employees, I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to watch our movement grow over the past seven years. 

Together, our coalition of artists, member organizations, community organizers, arts and cultural leaders, educators, students, and arts advocates have:

May 1, 2020—Over 600 arts, cultural, and creative leaders in Massachusetts sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and members of the Reopening Advisory Board today urging the administration to “consult leaders of the creative and cultural sector as you develop a reopening framework.” 

Artists, cultural workers, and leaders of museums, universities, community nonprofits, and other cultural and educational institutions from around the state signed the letter, including The Museum of Fine Arts Director Matthew Teitelbaum, MASS MoCA Director Joseph C. Thompson, and Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II Executive Director Ellie Donovan. 

“The obstacles that our artists and organizations will face in reopening are incredibly challenging and it is vital that the we meet those challenges,” said MASSCreative Executive Director Emily Ruddock. “Artists, museums, theaters, small community nonprofits, creative entrepreneurs, and so many others contribute billions of dollars to the state’s economy. There can be no road to recovery without the full inclusion and consideration of the creative sector.” 

Other letter signers include ArtsEmerson Executive Director David Howse and Artistic Director David Dower; Boston Ballet Executive Director Max Hodges; Boston Children’s Museum President Carole Charnow; The Boston Foundation President Paul Grogan; EcoTarium President & CEO Lucy Hale; IBA- Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción CEO Vanessa Calderon-Rosado; Isabella Stewart Gardner Director Peggy Fogelman; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Executive & Artistic Director Pamela Tatge; Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Anita Walker; Massachusetts Historical Society President Catherine Allgor; Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Njimy; Montserrat College of Art President Kurt T. Steinberg EdD and Emeritus President Stephen Immerman; Museum of Science President Tim Ritchie; New England Aquarium President and CEO Vikki Spruill; and New England Foundation for the Arts Executive Director Cathy Edwards. 

“The creative and cultural sector is a necessary component to bringing our economy back on line. Governors in Utah, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia understood this importance by including and consulting the arts and cultural sector in their reopening strategy,” the letter states. 

“The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in 2017 that arts and cultural economic activity accounts for $25.8 billion in value to Massachusetts, contributing 140,593 jobs,” it continues, noting that the study calculated both for-profit and nonprofit businesses, performing arts venues, independent contractors, and creative entrepreneurs. “The economic impact of a strong and diverse creative sector is felt throughout Massachusetts from cultural tourism in the Berkshires, Boston and Cape Cod, to downtown revitalization in gateway cities like Lynn, New Bedford and Worcester.”

“We recognize that our collective economic and communal recovery will take time and requires thoughtful planning. As small business owners and community leaders the creative sector can greatly contribute to a statewide plan that addresses our economic and public health needs now and through recovery,” the letter concludes. 

The letter can be downloaded here: http://www.mass-creative.org/covid19rabletterer

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Throughout this pandemic, we’ve seen so many of the ways the creative community is using their work to aid and ease others throughout the crisis. Some are producing and releasing arts-centered educational materials to help teachers and parents with their students at home; some are hosting concerts from their living room, either to raise donations for vital relief funds, or just to add a bit of joy to our day. Museums have gone digital, theatres and operas stream daily, and even Fenway Park’s own organ player is bringing a taste of that ballpark music into our homes. In an unprecedented situation, the arts & culture community has stepped up in every way, and the creativity they have used never ceases to astound us.

Today, we want to spotlight the efforts of one organization that’s going above and beyond to aid in the crisis and help the frontlines. We were amazed to hear the Artisan’s Asylum has converted their workspace into a PPE factory, and their members are hard at work producing surgical grade face shields, face masks, and hospital gowns. Located in Somerville, Artisan’s Asylum is traditionally a non-profit community makerspace, offering tools, workspace, and special events to members and the general public. Like many of our favorite spaces, Artisan’s Asylum was forced to close due to the voluntary quarantine measures. But upon hearing about the PPE shortages in hospitals occurring across the Commonwealth, a few of their dedicated members decided to re-open the space exclusively to produce PPE and fill the gaps wherever they’re needed.

Their designs and products follow highest quality standards, and can be produced faster than 3D-printed versions of the same. By repairing and repurposing older machinery, Artisan’s Asylum has upped their production rapidly; currently they’re producing 1,000 gowns per week and distributing them where needed. We want to extend our warmest thanks to Artisan’s Asylum and their volunteers, and to their utmost dedication to the community around them. We at MASSCreative are eternally proud of the innovative and vital ways the creative community shows they care, and Artisan’s Asylum sets an example for all of us as to why the arts do, and always will, matter.