“We applaud state senators who have approved an increase in funding for the Mass Cultural Council from $14 million to $16 million. We’re thankful to Senate President Harriette L. Chandler, Senate Ways & Means Committee Chair Karen Spilka, and the 22 cosponsors on Senator Adam Hinds’ Mass Cultural Council Amendment.
“The Senate budget must now be reconciled with the House budget, which recommended funding the Mass Cultural Council at $14.5 million. As the two legislative bodies work on a final number, we urge them to keep in mind the short and long-term benefits that creativity, culture, and art bring to the Commonwealth.
“Our state and local economies made up of hundreds of downtown districts, would be diminished without the contributions of nonprofit arts organizations, who generated more than $2.2 billion in activity in 2015 alone. Our community life is also much richer when the arts are a part of it. Creativity and culture are the building blocks for vibrant, equitable, and connected neighborhoods, and arts education benefits learners of all ages and across fields of study.
“None of these benefits occur incidentally. They come only by deliberately choosing to invest in arts education and field trips to museums, theatrical productions and musical performances. They happen when we fund local cultural councils that provide free opportunities for arts and cultural events and programs to all members of their communities. They happen when we nurture the development of the Commonwealth’s vast and diverse community of artists, who are driving the reinvigoration of the state’s gateway cities including Lynn, New Bedford, and Springfield, and often through projects funded by Mass Cultural Council.”
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Founded in 2012, MASSCreative works to build a more vibrant, healthy, and equitable Massachusetts. MASSCreative works with artists, leaders, supporters, and partners of the arts, cultural, and creative community to advocate for the resources and support necessary for the sector to thrive. Nearly 400 arts and cultural organizations and working artists from across the Commonwealth are members of MASSCreative.
