Your Personal Connection
We’ve all had defining moments in our lives. What personal connections with the arts and creative expression have had an impact on your life and views of the community?
My uncle, Joe Sakey, long-time director of the Cambridge Public Library, raised me in the arts early on. In the early 1980’s, in anticipation of the franchising of cable television for the City, City Manager Robert Healy appointed my uncle, Joseph Sakey, to head the city’s Office of Cable Television. Joe researched cable companies and cable licenses from around the country in order to develop the best possible system for Cambridge. He shepherded the City through the process of choosing our first cable provider, and set up the public, educational, and municipal access entities. (excerpted from CCTV web site).
Mr. Sakey was one of the founding members of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and the Arts & Sciences Center in Nashua. Mr. Sakey served on the boards of the Cambridge Mental Health Association, the Cambridge Arts Council, the Rainbow Education Center, Cambridge Historical Commission, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Mt. Auburn Hospital, The Guidance Center, and the Bank of New Hampshire.
City Investment in the Arts
As a City Councilor, how would you ensure Cambridge arts and creative community receives the funding it needs to fully realize its potential as a driving force in the community? While city investment in the Cambridge Arts Council has increased over past few years, direct support to the arts and cultural community does not meet the demand. Would you support a dedicated funding stream to provide funds for the creative community? At what financial level should the city invest in the Cambridge arts and creative sector?
Yes, I would support that. The city should invest at a high level.
Supporting a Diverse and Inclusive City
Cambridge is a diverse and thriving community. How would you use the creative community to build connections that maintain and support the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity that makes this city thrive?
I think that the creative community is a great place to enhance the diversity in Cambridge through festivals, news and education.
Public Art and Creative Placemaking
Cambridge’s public art program is the oldest in the country. The city has a long history of supporting public art, yet caps and limits on funding have hampered artists’ abilities to fully engage and serve the communities. Would you consider expanding the program to require a percent for arts on private development projects, as well as public ones? Would you support expanding the use of % for arts funds beyond visual arts to performing arts?
I would support an expansion and consider a percentage based arts fund.
Space to Rehearse, Create and Live
The lack of affordable studio space and housing makes it hard for artists to stay in Cambridge. How would you keep artists of all backgrounds in the city and provide the support necessary to thrive?
More low-income housing units have to be built and more spaces for the arts.
Public Events
Some community institutions and artist groups have problems gaining access to public spaces in which they can gather, perform, create, and connect with the public. Would you encourage ways to allow more activity in community spaces?
Yes, I would. Community spaces are under utilized and the arts should be able to use them.
Youth Engagement
Engaging students with the arts in school and out of school is essential to educating the whole child. While the CPS arts education curricula provides access to many, we need more participation in arts education. Cambridge’s out of school youth arts organizations continue to service thousands of kids, yet struggle to raise the resources needed to meet student demand. How would you invest in arts education for students of all ages, both inside and outside of school to ensure all youth in Cambridge have a connection to the arts?
I think that arts education should be mandatory in public schools and CPS arts education should get funding.
Corporate and Institutional Support for Arts and Creativity
Cambridge is home to many large corporate offices and world renowned educational institutions, whose workers and students enjoy Cambridge’s cultural assets. What responsibility should these institutions have in supporting arts and creative expression in Cambridge?
It should be mandatory that they support the arts.
Your “Go to” Places
Cambridge is blessed with a rich mix of arts and cultural organizations. Please tell us about two places where you have had personally significant connections to the arts and/or cultural experiences.
CCTV and the Library.
